News and Updates
The Internet Society of Australia has urged its members and all interested parties to take advantage of the opportunity to comment on the draft Online Copyright Infringement Code released today.
Following a period for public comment a finalised Code will be submitted in April for registration by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
The Internet Society is a member of the stakeholder advisory group that had input into the draft Code. However, CEO Laurie Patton has indicated that the Society is keen for its members to provide their views on the draft during the public comment period.
"It's not often that the public is given the ability to make its voice heard on important initiatives such as this. There are many aspects of the draft Code that will impact on Internet users and it is important that every angle is presented and considered before ACMA accepts the Code for registration", Mr Patton commented.
The Internet Society of Australia has called on the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) to recommend a total rethink of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Bill. Internet Society of Australia CEO, Laurie Patton, said his board and members are extremely concerned that the legislation, as currently drafted, simply won't achieve the Government's stated aims while constituting a serious threat to existing civil rights protections. At our appearance before the PJCIS the Society offered to assist the Committee and the Government by providing expert technical advice. At the Committee's request we have since provided a confidential supplementary report.
Media Release | Submission | YouTube Video of our presentation
Mr Laurie Patton has been appointed the new CEO of the Internet Society of Australia. The Society looks forward to expanding our work in helping shape our Internet future at both national and international levels.
Article on Laurie Patton in the Business Spectator here
The Internet Society of Australia is pleased to announce its executive for 2015: George Fong, President; Paul Brooks, Vice-President; Craig Ng, Honorary Treasurer; and Roger Clarke, Honorary Secretary.
Media Release and more details.here .
6th August 2014: Our 10 Questions On MetaData
The Australian Government has announced that it will mandate the retention of communications metadata for two years in order to assist law enforcement and national security agencies to improve the detection of terrorism offences and reduce the risk of a terrorist attack within Australia or which affects Australians or their interests.
There has been criticism of this proposal on the grounds of interference with the privacy of the vast majority of Australians who are not terrorists as well as the cost and risks of implementation.
Reassuringly, the Attorney General and Minister for Communications have made it clear that, as a general principle, the Government will seek to minimise the cost impact and risk of interference with the privacy of ordinary Australians to the extent possible.
However, unfortunately at this point there appears to be insufficient information in the public domain about the detail of the proposal to understand how it is to be implemented in practice and to reach informed conclusions as to whether the benefits of the proposal outweigh its cost and risk.
We posed 10 detailed questions on MetaData to the Attorney General's Department to try and assist in fleshing out the scheme, prior to the Bill being introduced.
Click here for our document containing our Ten Questions on MetaData