Current Events > Anti-encryption legislation just passed in Australia

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.zdnet.com/article/australia-now-has-encryption-busting-laws-as-labor-capitulates/

The only thing worse than this is when it comes to every other major Western nation because Australia already has it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steganography

Bumping once for good measure.

Implementing a police state was the real reason Australia implemented really strict gun control.

Have fun!
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darkmaian23 posted...

https://www.zdnet.com/article/australia-now-has-encryption-busting-laws-as-labor-capitulates/

The only thing worse than this is when it comes to every other major Western nation because Australia already has it.

They're just going to chase all their developer talent out of the country.
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if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear
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@Tyranthraxus
Other Western powers--including the US and Canada--have designs on crafting and passing similar legislation. Sure, Australia might lose some business and talent at first, but soon enough this legislation will be the norm, with politicians world-wide citing Australia's law as a successful precedent. And no matter how stupid an idea it is, it will be successful. It's not like having these powers makes it harder to catch criminals.

AlephZero posted...

if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear

Dox yourself right now then.
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darkmaian23 posted...

@Tyranthraxus
Other Western powers--including the US and Canada--have designs on crafting and passing similar legislation. Sure, Australia might lose some business and talent at first, but soon enough this legislation will be the norm, with politicians world-wide citing Australia's law as a successful precedent. And no matter how stupid an idea it is, it will be successful. It's not like having these powers makes it harder to catch criminals.

Nah. People are going to see what a disaster it is in Australia and back off.
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Anarchy_Juiblex posted...

AlephZero posted...

if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear

Dox yourself right now then.

Why? So you crazies can try and fuck with their personal life for the lolz!
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sktgamer_13dude posted...

Anarchy_Juiblex posted...

AlephZero posted...

if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear

Dox yourself right now then.

Why?

To prove you have data worth hiding because . . .

So you crazies can try and fuck with their personal life for the lolz!

Obviously I don't want him to dox himself and he's probably being sarcastic anyways.
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@Anarchy_Juiblex

Yeah he's being sarcastic. He's actually one of the few remaining great posters.
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@Tyranthraxus
I'm not really sure where your optimism is coming from. The legislation is a disaster for the privacy of ordinary Australians, but it probably won't be for the nation as a whole. I'm betting that most tech companies won't pull out of Australia. But even if they did, they can't pull out of New Zealand, Canada, the United States, and Canada too---and every single one of those countries is intent upon enacting legislation just like this.

It got passed in Australia in spite of legislative hurdles (they skipped the part of the review process to hurry it through), in spite of Australia's own experts opposing it, and in spite of the electorate not wanting it (less than one percent of people who wrote in about it were in favor). How is it going to be different over here? The CLOUD Act is a direct sucker punch to the Fourth Amendment, and it was passed without ever being voted on---they just stuffed it into that must-pass spending bill and called it a day.

I'n not trying to be flippant: if there really is a reason to be optimistic about all of this turning around, I'd like to know about it so I can feel hopeful too.

It gets shot down in America constantly. Especially after the Undisclosed FBI hack of iPhones was used to hack Apple. It doesn't even get close to passing.
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@Tyranthraxus
To my knowledge, no one has tried to pass anti-encryption legislation in the US since the 1990s. What you are thinking of are legal battles between the government and companies, and these have gone in the favor of the private sector up 'til now. But earlier this year the DOJ (and it's counterparts in four other countries, including Australia) signaled they would be seeking powers just like this. Australia has set a precedent, and the intelligence community and law enforcement will use that when seeking these powers for themselves. In the meantime, they can just use Australia's powers, since requests from foreign governments are a valid reason for using them, and they can reach any company (or individuals inside of the company) so long as that company serves people in Australia.

In other words, it has to do with this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Eyes

To add to the fun, the legislation is expected to have amendments added to it early next year, so you can expect the powers to be expanded and any loopholes closed. I mean, at the last minute it went from "serious crimes only" to "serious crimes and anything with a minimum penalty of 3 years or more". Yeah, it's going to be fun for everyone.

And now this:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-tech-eevidence/eu-governments-agree-to-tougher-stance-on-e-evidence-idUSKBN1O6271

Not nearly as bad, but countries all over are headed in the same direction, whether it makes sense or not.