Pirate Party Australia is deeply concerned about the increasing international trend of widescale surveillance, such as the possible implementation of the Trapwire surveillance system in Australia, due to the significant potential for abuse.
Yesterday, the Sydney Morning Herald revealed[1] ties between a government contractor and a company manufacturing sophisticated surveillance equipment that claims to detect “suspicious activity”, which ultimately means activity that marks a person as suspicious without the person actually committing any crime. To increase its efficiency, the system collects information from its multiple installations and combines it, even across borders.
“These systems claim to detect ‘pre-crime’ activities and tag individuals as suspects automatically. Such systems, when deployed in the public space, are an encroachment on the privacy of the users of public spaces,” said David W. Campbell, President of Pirate Party Australia. “They have the effect of suppressing the legitimate activities of law abiding individuals, who become justifiably worried about being mislabelled and prosecuted.”
“Although not yet deployed in Australia, the existence of these systems tells a cautionary tale. It strengthens our position that we must remain vigilant when our privacy is gradually eroded by increasing government surveillance powers.”
Recently there has been significant interest around the controversial National Security Inquiry (#natsecinquiry). It proposes extending the existing powers of Australian intelligence and security agencies, including greater provisions for telecommunication interception and penalties for refusing to assist in data decryption. It also contains provisions to conceal and protect the people and methods used in collecting this information.
On August 7th, 2012, Pirate Party Australia launched an online petition objecting to the proposals of the National Security Inquiry. The petition will be presented to the Senate.
Please help support your own privacy by reading and signing it[2].
[1] http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/revealed-trapwire-spy-cams-ticket-to-australia-20120813-2448z.html
[2] https://pirateparty.org.au/natsecinquiry-petition/
I think pirate party has the wrong end of the stick.
We cannot stop surveillance cameras, or the feeds of privately owned cameras into government security analysis. In fact, if it stops terrorism and crime, I am in favour.
What we should require is online public access to every camera focused on public spaces, and online reporting of whoever accesses those cameras. In this way anybody can observe others. However those others will know that they have been observed and by whom.
Trapwire is just a surveillance system, probably analyzing face, body and movement style of the target.
It is the new world, and honest men need not fear to go out in public. But their protection should be open surveillance systems, not secretive government systems that will mostly benefit those in power.
Attn Chris.
What is this terrorism you speak of. The only terrorism that exists is the lies out of America scaring the world. All this terrorism has ONLY existed since the fall of the U.S.S.R back in the 80’s. The American government, sorry The America Private company’s that make $Millions out of Military Contracts, needed a new non-findable enemy, and a scared population so they can still get paid.
Yes there will always be a very very small number of people who are disgruntled or extremists (the same as there are always murderers and rapists) that may pose a threat. That doesn’t mean the everyone should be stopped and searched or interrogated just because the ‘look’ suspicious.
If you want to live in a police state, without any real freedoms, I suggest you move to North Korea or similar place.
Just remember, Sh*t always happens!
Here is something for you to consider Chris. Maybe you should partition our government to spend Billions of dollars on Space observation just on the slim chance an Asteroid could hit the planet and kill all of us.
Fred
Fred,
I suppose you think that Julian Assange, fighter for open government and release of government surveillance secrets should be executed.
As a shill, Fred, you do Hillary and the US government proud!
And Fred, if I could partition our government into lots of parties like Italy or Israel, I think that would be a great idea. But I don’t really see how that is relevant.
No terrorism before the end of the Cold War?
Right, except for the plane hijackings in the Middle East during the ’70s, the Iranian Embassy siege in London in 1980, the murder of the Israeli Olympic team in in Munich in 1972 and assorted IRA bombings. Not to mention the activities of the likes of the Red Army Faction, Baader-Meinhof, the Weather Underground Organization, the Unabomber (Ted Kaczynski), the PLO (now the PLA and no longer considered as terrorists by much of the world), Hamas, Hezb Allah (usually westernised to Hizbollah or Hezbollah, it translates to “Party of God”), the Red Brigades, Shining Path, ETA, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the Tamil Tigers, the KKK and the list goes on.