Category: Press Release

Press releases

Former A-G Suggests Social Engineering Program

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Pirate Party Australia has finished its analysis of documents released under the Freedom of Information Act, and has found evidence that former Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, supports schemes that “must be educative and aim to change social norms.”[1]

In September of 2011, the Attorney-General’s Department convened talks with internet service providers (ISPs) and representatives of the content industry (such as AFACT), to discuss progress on co-operative anti-piracy strategies. Not only does Mr McClelland promote a consumer-excluding “industry-based solution,”[2] it also appears that he was more than prepared to force social change in order to prop-up the dying content industries.

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An Open Letter To Authors & Publishers: Don’t Use Apple iBook Author

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An open letter to authors and publishers worldwide.

To Whom it may concern,

Last week Apple announced the launch of its iBooks 2 app which includes iBook Author, software designed to help writers lay out their Ebooks. [1][2]

There are many features in iBook Author which are quite useful for authors, particularly writers of textbooks. However, any perceived benefit from easy to use lay-out software is offset by one of the most far-reaching EULAs (End-User Licence Agreement) ever devised.

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SOPA & PIPA – The Internet Goes On Strike, Pirates Join

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On January 18 many websites have gone, or will go, on strike voluntarily[1] to demonstrate against the threat of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT-IP Act (PIPA) bills, pending US legislation that would restrict freedom of speech, negatively impact economies, and degrade internet security. Participation in the strike has been confirmed by Wikipedia[2], Reddit, Mozilla, and Free Software Foundation, among others. Many organizations, including Google, Facebook, and Twitter, have expressed grave concerns over the bills[3].

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AG’s Department Claims Meeting ‘Notes’ Are “Not In The Public Interest”

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The Attorney-General’s Department last year claimed that no minutes exist of a clandestine meeting between the Department, ISPs and content industry representatives to discuss ‘solutions’ to online file-sharing.[1]

In heavily redacted documents released last month to Rodney Serkowski, former President of Pirate Party Australia, eight pages were censored. The notice reads “the following eight pages […] are hand written notes taken by an officer of the Attorney-General’s Department of the 23 September 2011 meeting. These notes are exempt pursuant to s47C.”[2]

Pirate Party Australia fails to understand why the Attorney-General’s Department felt it necessary to claim no minutes were taken.

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Pirate Party Australia Concerned By UK Extradition Ruling

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UK Judge Quentin Purdy has approved an extradition request to have a student face charges in the United States. Pirate Party Australia is concerned that such precedents will pave the way for similar cases where Australians may be extradited and tried in the US court system.

“By supporting the baseless US extradition case against Richard O’Dwyer today at Westminster Magistrates Court, the judge Judge Quentin Purdy has failed to inject the much needed shot of rationality into the insanity of the UK-US extradition arrangements we had all hoped for. The Sheffield student is accused of infringing copyright by setting up the popular Netherlands-hosted website TV Shack,” said Loz Kaye, Leader of Pirate Party UK, in a press release yesterday[1].

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