''THE case has yet to be made'' for a controversial plan to force
internet providers to store the web history of all Australians for up to
two years, according to Attorney-General Nicola Roxon, who has
acknowledged the financial and privacy costs of such a scheme.
Ms Roxon expressed her reservations in an interview with
Fairfax Media, publisher of this article, in what may be a sign the
government does not have the appetite for forcing through Parliament the
most controversial proposal among a package of more than 40 national
security measures.
The proposals, if passed, would be the most significant
expansion of the Australian national security community's powers since
the Howard-era reforms of the early 2000s.
Regarding data retention, Ms Roxon said she had some sympathy
for the view of the national security community but said: ''I am not
yet convinced that the cost and the return - the cost both to industry
and the [civil liberties] cost to individuals - that we've made the case
for what it is that people use in a way that benefits our national
security. I think there is a genuine question to be tested, which is why
it's such a big part of the proposal.''
That is a view that will be greeted with some apprehension by one of
the main advocates for such a regime - Neil Gaughan, who heads the
federal police's High Tech Crime Centre.
''If we don't have a data-retention regime in place [in the
future], we will not be able to commence an investigation in the first
place,'' he said. ''And it's already getting increasingly difficult.''
Opposition to such laws in Germany - the government has
declared them invasions of privacy and forbidden them - had left German
federal police agency the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) a laughing stock,
Assistant Commissioner Gaughan said. ''No one can work with them
internationally; if I go to Germany with an inquiry about who called
who, when and why, they can't tell us,'' he said.
''It's causing the BKA all sorts of problems.'' However,
Andrew Lewman, the executive director of Tor, which makes software that
disguises a person's location when surfing the web, said data retention
actually impeded the effectiveness of law enforcement.
''It sounds good and something sexy that politicians should get behind,'' he said.
''However, it doesn't stop crime, it builds a massive dossier
on everyone at millisecond resolution and creates more work and
challenges for law enforcement to catch actual criminals.
''The problem isn't too little data, the problem is there is already too much data.''
He said while its collection may be innocent today, it could cause problems in the future.
''It will also help future witch-hunts for people doing
acceptable things today but at some point in the future these activities
might seem suspect,'' he said.
The debate about the proposed legislative changes is already
shaping up to be significant, with political activist outfit GetUp! and
online rights group Electronic Frontiers Australia joining forces to
start an online campaign to petition Ms Roxon about the proposals.
The committee with the job of inquiring into the proposals
has already reacted to comments that the four weeks offered to the
public to provide submissions was not long enough, yesterday announcing
it was extending the deadline by a fortnight.
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