Government declares war on the Internet; we must fight back

Today is a dark day for Australians and the Internet as the Labor Party caucus approves data retention[1] and the Coalition prepares to introduce misguided new legislation aimed at combatting online copyright infringement[2]. To encourage Australians to join us in fighting back, the Pirate Party is offering pay-what-you-want memberships with no minimum amount at https://pirateparty.org.au/join

Pirate Party Deputy President Simon Frew said: “The Government and the Opposition have effectively declared war on the Internet and war on our privacy. The Labor Party has rolled over on data retention, meaning all Australians will be subjected to mass surveillance until this appalling legislation is repealed.

“At the same time, legislation to give copyright holders an easy mechanism to get websites blocked will mean we are subjected to a censorship regime. The Government has opted for a long and pointless game of whack-a-mole — as soon as a site is blocked it will pop up in several new places and copyright infringement will continue.

“If they were serious about reducing the number of Australians sharing files online, they would refuse to take this path and instead insist that copyright holders adjust their exploitative business models by making content available at the time of international release and at a reasonable price[3].

“These two pieces of legislation are an assault on our human rights and civil liberties online. We must resist mass surveillance. We must subvert the censors. The Government may be able to write laws, but Internet users in Australia can, must and will work to resist the creeping totalitarianism.

“We will see Australians turning to various tools, many for the first time, to protect their privacy and evade the censors as the Government feebly attempts to intrude on the free flow of information.”

The Pirate Party has maintained a clear stance on Internet censorship and website blocking: neither are acceptable. The introduction of any type of allegedly narrow website blocking mechanism is almost certainly only the beginning of a much broader regime of Internet censorship in Australia.

The Pirate Party is further concerned that the text of the Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill has not yet been made public, nor has it been the subject of a public consultation.

[1] http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/mp-urges-bill-shorten-to-consult-more-with-caucus-as-labor-agrees-to-back-the-coalitions-metadata-retention-laws-20150317-1m0zfo.html
[2] http://www.itnews.com.au/News/401763,brandis-to-introduce-site-blocking-legislation-this-week.aspx
[3] http://games.on.net/2015/03/netflix-piracy-vpns/

5 thoughts on “Government declares war on the Internet; we must fight back

  1. This is a dark time, To cencor anything is an insult to intelligence and the breeder of sheeple, What can we do tho? how dose a people fight back against unjust law of the state?

    1. Tell them to get F**Ked and do everything to do. To get around the Idiots in Government

  2. It’s like Living in a Dictatorship where the Government has Total Control on what we can See on the Internet.

    It’s Like Living in China

  3. It seems that we have lost the battle, but the war is not yet won. So I suggest to all concerned citizens and freedom loving Australian’s, to get a VPN. It’s relatively cheap for a software based program, I’m talking $10/month or $50/year one time payment…you can look up reviews of VPN to choose the appropriate one for you.

    1. I am sure going to look into getting a VPN.

      IF The Government is acting like a Communist Party and Censoring Stuff.

      We should do all in our Power to Stick it up there Ass

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