There’s a Bill lurking in the halls of federal parliament that should be amended before it is voted on again. The proposed data breach notification law – where you are told if someone secretly taps into your bank account, for example – contains major flaws which could be easily fixed, Prof Graham Greenleaf says.
The Law Reform Committee of the Victorian Parliament has done exceedingly well to balance the interests of justice against the twin imperatives of rapidly-changing mores of teenagers and constantly-evolving technology. The recommendations for new sexting laws could provide a model for jurisdictions worldwide, Rhys Michie says.
The annual NGO consultation in Canberra, with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Attorney-General’s Department, produces a useful exchange of views, questions and answers in the areas of civil liberties and human rights. Here’s a report…
In a rushed process, the Senate’s SLAC committee (Senate Legal And Constitutional affairs) is examining a privacy amendment that may have significant effect on our online rights. CLA recommends broadening a definition so that ‘harm to identity’ includes…
When police or the spy agencies say they only want your metadata, what exactly does that mean? It isn’t what you say, but when, where, how, and to whom you say it. See how six months of ‘live’ metadata exposes someone’s life almost completely.Read artic…
Cartoon: thanks to John Ditchburn, Inkcinct
Recent revelations of wholesale, systemic phone tapping by the USA and by police and spook agencies in Australia could be the camel that broke the elephant in the room’s back. Graham Macafee warns that self-ce…
The Attorney-General’s department, supposed upholder of civil liberties and the rule of law, “is the single greatest threat to the basic rights of Australians,” says Bernard Keane. Rather than being mentor to and monitor of its portfolio agencies, the d…
Cartoon with thanks to John Ditchburn, InkcinctCivil liberties and human rights lost out in Budget 2013. Not only did they lose to the police, security-like agencies and the spooks by not receiving funds, but some civil justice and human rights areas we…
Which of the big US e-companies have respect for your data, and protect your privacy?
In Australia, CLA is working with MPs, the Cancer Council, academics and researchers to press for a new federal law protecting human genes from being patented. In the US Supreme Court, a ‘commercial’ case now being decided will influence what happ…
