Comments on: Conroy’s Folly: The Great Australian Firewall http://computerandonlinesecurity.com/blog/censorship/conroys-folly-the-great-australian-firewall/ Stay safe online with jargon-free security hints, tips and resources Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:22:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Douglas Redding http://computerandonlinesecurity.com/blog/censorship/conroys-folly-the-great-australian-firewall/#comment-4789 Douglas Redding Sat, 02 Jan 2010 04:44:07 +0000 http://computerandonlinesecurity.com/blog/?p=1573#comment-4789 Terribly sad, and disgusting. I'm sure you remember every US telecom rolling over without even a blink, when President #43 asked for records. Only one company, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qwest_Communications#Refusal_for_NSA_spying" rel="nofollow">Qwest</a>, asked for a lawful warrant. It's a travesty of freedom & privacy. Terribly sad, and disgusting. I’m sure you remember every US telecom rolling over without even a blink, when President #43 asked for records. Only one company, Qwest, asked for a lawful warrant.
It’s a travesty of freedom & privacy.

]]> By: Michael Patrick Doyle http://computerandonlinesecurity.com/blog/censorship/conroys-folly-the-great-australian-firewall/#comment-4773 Michael Patrick Doyle Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:24:40 +0000 http://computerandonlinesecurity.com/blog/?p=1573#comment-4773 I can only hope that nothing like that happens in Canada. But as in all cases, it's only a matter of time before it is spread all over the WWW, I hope people take the time to find out what is going on before that happens I can only hope that nothing like that happens in Canada. But as in all cases, it’s only a matter of time before it is spread all over the WWW, I hope people take the time to find out what is going on before that happens

]]> By: Bill Norrie http://computerandonlinesecurity.com/blog/censorship/conroys-folly-the-great-australian-firewall/#comment-4772 Bill Norrie Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:45:01 +0000 http://computerandonlinesecurity.com/blog/?p=1573#comment-4772 As far as UK is concerned, Bill Hely already covered the situation in his article "Right to Privacy? Hah!" on November 12th. He quoted an article in the UK newspaper The London Telegraph, which claims that the current UK government is about to (Quote) "... pass legislation to require all telecoms companies and ISPs to store the following end-user communications: * Every phone call * Every text message * Every e-mail * Every website visit This mass of data must by law be STORED FOR A FULL YEAR and be available for perusal by “authorized” bodies...." (end of Quote) As a result of reading Bill's article and subsequently reading 'The Telegraph" article, I wrote to my MP Mr. William Hague. He replied to me within a week, stating : "It is good that the Home Office has stepped back from introducing a single database to hold information from e-mails, phone calls and Internet use. However, the Government still has plans to require telecoms providers and ISPs to collect and store information on calls, texts, e-mails and website visits, made by customers. The big danger in all of this is 'mission creep'. The problem is that the current Government has built a culture of suveillance and keeps introducing new powers to tackle terrorism and organised crime, which end up being used for completely different purposes. We have to stop this from happening. The Conservatives have announced that any proposals for new legislation or other measures that involve data collection or sharing should be immediately subject to a Privacy Impact Assessment. Such a PIA system will ensure that government departments properly consider the impact of any data collection scheme on individual privacy, and will require them to consider the proportionality of the scheme at the outset. The Home Office should conduct the the PIA in consultation with the Information Commissioner, and the outcome of the review published and reported to Parliament." So, it would seem that if the current UK Labour government is thrown out on their necks at our forthcoming election in 2010 - which is the most likely scenario - this draconian legislation will effectively bite the dust! As far as UK is concerned, Bill Hely already covered the situation in his article “Right to Privacy? Hah!” on November 12th. He quoted an article in the UK newspaper The London Telegraph, which claims that the current UK government is about to (Quote) “… pass legislation to require all telecoms companies and ISPs to store the following end-user communications:
* Every phone call
* Every text message
* Every e-mail
* Every website visit
This mass of data must by law be STORED FOR A FULL YEAR and be available for perusal by “authorized” bodies….” (end of Quote)

As a result of reading Bill’s article and subsequently reading ‘The Telegraph” article, I wrote to my MP Mr. William Hague. He replied to me within a week, stating :

“It is good that the Home Office has stepped back from introducing a single database to hold information from e-mails, phone calls and Internet use. However, the Government still has plans to require telecoms providers and ISPs to collect and store information on calls, texts, e-mails and website visits, made by customers. The big danger in all of this is ‘mission creep’. The problem is that the current Government has built a culture of suveillance and keeps introducing new powers to tackle terrorism and organised crime, which end up being used for completely different purposes. We have to stop this from happening.
The Conservatives have announced that any proposals for new legislation or other measures that involve data collection or sharing should be immediately subject to a Privacy Impact Assessment. Such a PIA system will ensure that government departments properly consider the impact of any data collection scheme on individual privacy, and will require them to consider the proportionality of the scheme at the outset. The Home Office should conduct the the PIA in consultation with the Information Commissioner, and the outcome of the review published and reported to Parliament.”

So, it would seem that if the current UK Labour government is thrown out on their necks at our forthcoming election in 2010 – which is the most likely scenario – this draconian legislation will effectively bite the dust!

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