Civil liberties-eviscerating law in Australia. From Michael Krieger, at libertyblitzkrieg.com:
At least in America, the authorities feel a need to lie to the public while engaging in invasive and tyrannical warrantless surveillance. In Australia, a nation in which you are more likely to die by hitting a kangaroo with your car than in a terrorist attack, government officials have no qualms with doing it right in your face.
We learn from the Sydney Morning Herald:
The digital privacy of Australians ends from Tuesday, October 13.
On that day this country’s entire communications industry will be turned into a surveillance and monitoring arm of at least 21 agencies of executive government.
The electronically logged data of mobile, landline voice (including missed and failed) calls and text messages, all emails, download volumes and location information will be mandatorily retained by Australian telcos and ISPs.
Intelligence and law enforcement agencies will have immediate, warrantless and accumulating access to all telephone and internet metadata required by law, with a $2 million penalty for telcos and ISPs that don’t comply.
There is nothing in the Act to prevent investigative “fishing expeditions” or systemic abuse of power except for retrospective oversight by the Commonwealth Ombudsman. That’s if you somehow found out about an agency looking into your metadata – which is unlikely, as there’s a two-year jail sentence for anyone caught revealing information about instances of metadata access.
Pretty soon, the penalty will be beheading. That’ll show ISIS!
To continue reading: The Day Digital Privacy Officially Dies in Australia
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