BRISBANE, 6th Nov 2023 – Pirate Party Australia, a champion of digital rights, has called out Jordan’s recent restriction on the LGBTIQ+ social networking app, Grindr. This blockade amplifies the steadily growing affront to the country’s online freedoms and its commitment to inclusivity.

This move comes amid an apparent surge in intolerance and discrimination against Jordan’s LGBTIQ+ communities. Even though antique colonial-era laws criminalising consensual same-sex relationships have been repealed, religious restrictions in the country still rock the boat for the LGBTIQ+ rights.

Pirate Party Australia’s President, Miles Whiticker, shares: “Our mission is an internet that is both free of censorship and discrimination. The prohibition of Grindr is not a standalone incident, but a grim addition to a troubling pattern that infringes on the digital rights and welfare of the worldwide LGBTIQ+ community. Our stance is unwavering – every individual, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, deserves to connect with others and find joy.”

Data from the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) reveals that Grindr’s site and app were blocked in Jordan starting from 8th August, 2023 [1]. According to OONI, the ban is not temporary but enduring. This is more than a mere technological barrier; it’s a blatant affront to universal human rights and health agendas. Grindr has played a crucial role in Jordan’s response to HIV by providing users with necessary resources in Arabic. The ban, thus, not only infringes on public health initiatives but jeopardizes the wellness of Jordan’s entire LGBTIQ+ community.

Confronted by the closure of physical spaces for the LGBTIQ+ community in Jordan, Pirate Party Australia emphasises the necessity to safeguard online platforms. The global community must recognise the potential implications of this clampdown for both Jordanians and the global LGBTIQ+ populace.

Jordan’s government is urged to reconsider the ban on Grindr and uphold the rights and dignity of all citizens. Pirate Party Australia reaffirms its resolve to champion an internet unencumbered by censorship – an inclusive online world where self-expression isn’t shadowed by fear.

[1] https://ooni.org/post/2023-jordan-blocks-grindr/

BRISBANE, 1st July 2023 – The Pirate Party Australia today voiced its concern over the newly proposed legislation which aims to combat misinformation online by imposing fines on tech platforms.
“Our view is that the best disinfectant for misinformation is sunlight,” said Pirate Party Australia President, Miles Whiticker. “Instead of burying misinformation, it needs to be brought to public scrutiny and systematically addressed. This way, the Australian public can make informed decisions based on open dialogue.”

The proposed bill, empowering the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to impose penalties on tech companies for failing to combat misinformation, raises several concerns for the Pirate Party.
“We acknowledge the harm that can result from the spread of false information,” stated Whiticker. “But it is paramount that any measures taken don’t result in an unnecessary clampdown on the free expression of ideas or force misinformation further into the depths of the internet, creating echo chambers that are much harder to dispel.” The Pirate Party Australia also underscores the importance of moderation being a voluntary act. “Consumers should be able to choose communities that match their desired level of regulation,” Whiticker stated. “Many communities lack trust in public figures due to perceived bias against their interests.”

The party also cautions against the potential for government overreach in the new laws. “While we do not favour more regulation in general, we recognise that legal recourse may be necessary when misinformation leads to harmful consequences. It is important that such processes should be handled by the independent judicial system, thereby ensuring impartiality and preventing political misuse,” Whiticker added.

The Pirate Party encourages the government to focus on spreading correct and trustworthy information, with a strong emphasis on education to foster a more discerning and critically thinking population. “The ultimate power lies in an informed public,” Whiticker concluded.

The Pirate Party Australia invites its members and the public to engage in this important debate and provide feedback on the proposed bill before its public consultation stage concludes in August.

Pirate Party Australia, a political party focused on digital rights and civil liberties, acknowledges the potential risks posed by TikTok, but also emphasises the importance of a measured and evidence-based approach when addressing these concerns. While we understand the importance of national security, we must also protect citizens’ rights to freedom of expression and access to information. An outright ban on TikTok could set a dangerous precedent for censoring other platforms in the future. We encourage open dialogue and cooperation between the Australian government, TikTok, and the international community to address the concerns raised.

Pirate Party President Miles Whiticker said, “A better, more general, approach would be to require all government software to be open sourced. That way we can leverage the open source community to provide decentralised security.”

Pirate Party Australia also recommends that the government focuses on implementing comprehensive data privacy laws and transparent regulations that apply to all tech companies operating in Australia. This approach would ensure that any concerns about data security and privacy are addressed uniformly across the industry, rather than singling out individual companies. These regulations would establish controls on how and where Australian user data can be stored and whether it may be transmitted overseas.

Pirate Party Australia reiterates the importance of an individual right to privacy, augmented by heightened security standards around private data. Individuals must have a legally protected right to control data collection on devices they own, including making decisions regarding data retention, encryption, transmission, and deletion. The Pirate Party also calls for raising the floor for privacy protection in Australia, urging the adoption of higher privacy standards for entities that handle private data, including requiring entities to complete Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) that encompass binding data security safeguards. Pirate Party Australia believes that these policies will not only address concerns over TikTok but also contribute to fostering a more secure, privacy-conscious digital environment for all Australians.

Pirate Party Australia is also urging the government to work with app store providers and international partners to develop and implement a standardised disclosure system for apps that may be subject to data access legislation by the Australian government or foreign governments. The proposed system would require app developers to clearly label and provide information about potential access to user data, including where it might be used by marketing companies, law enforcement, foreign governments, or machine learning algorithms.

Pirate Party President Miles Whiticker said, “By increasing transparency and providing Australian citizens with accurate and accessible information, we can better protect digital privacy and maintain trust in the digital ecosystem. We believe this approach addresses national security concerns while maintaining the protection of individual liberties and fostering a more informed and engaged digital citizenship.”

The party’s position aligns with growing concerns about the potential for foreign government influence and data privacy issues associated with apps like TikTok. Pirate Party Australia continues to advocate for policies that protect individual privacy.

As part of its latest assault on the right of Australian Citizens to privately access a free and open Internet, the Online Safety Bill 2021 was recently passed by both houses of government.

This lengthy Bill grants extraordinarily broad powers to a so-called “E-Safety Commissioner”, with no statutory limits, in a short-sighted attempt to improve the safety of Australians online. Their rulings are not subject to appeal, and purport to extend across the entire world, regardless of jurisdiction or international borders. They grant the Commissioner near-unlimited power to censor the Internet, and compel assistance from all individuals, internet service providers, hosting services, social media platforms and communications services to facilitate investigations, without any regard for the security of these services or the privacy rights of individuals.

To make matters worse, the Bill is in no way limited to the more laudable objectives of preventing distribution of material that is harmful in its creation or violates users’ privacy (such as child pornography or non-consensual sharing of private intimate video), and instead seeks to apply sweeping restrictions to the entire internet. The Commissioner is empowered to censor or restrict access to any kind of adult content, prevent ordinary people from sharing videos of violent confrontations, intervene in online verbal disputes between school children or Australian adults, construct mandatory industry standards without parliamentary oversight, and indeed “do anything incidental to or conducive to” any of their other goals… all at their sole discretion.

While child pornography and similarly abhorrent material have no place in civilised society, these matters should be handled by Police under judicial oversight and limitation, not by an unaccountable and despotic government-appointed bureaucrat. These laws do not create a “safe” internet for anybody but the government. They harm activists, they harm whistleblowers, they harm sex workers, they harm civilian journalists, they harm free speech, they harm privacy, they harm security, and they harm every single Australian who uses the internet. But for Labour, the Coalition, and the new E-Safety Commissioner, it seems the ends truly do justify the means.

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