Australia's Major Parties Vote Against Encryption In Wake of Apple FBI Case (delimiter.com.au)

daria42 writes: If you're counting on Apple to keep your digital information safe, you may want to think again ... at least if you live in Australia. Yesterday the country's two major political parties — Labor and the Coalition — voted down a motion in Federal Parliament calling for strong encryption to be supported in the wake of the FBI's demands that Apple unlock iOS. It appears that implementing comprehensive telephone and email retention in Australia may not have been the end of demands by law enforcement in the country.

Comments

Security or Liberty?

[CohibaVancouver]

A big part of the issue is that voters demand 'total security' from their governments - Citizens expect to be wrapped in a big, warm security blanket. You can't have total security and total liberty, so the governments dispense with liberty. Voters don't mind because hey, their kids are 'safe.'

Re:Security or Liberty?

[houstonbofh]

A big part of the issue is that voters demand 'total security' from their governments - Citizens expect to be wrapped in a big, warm security blanket. You can't have total security and total liberty, so the governments dispense with liberty. Voters don't mind because hey, their kids are 'safe.'

And the irony is that it does nothing to make them safe. Criminals will still have guns and strong encryption, and the people now have less liberty.

The media here isn't really covering this anyway

[Gumbercules!!]

This is interesting. I live in Australia and I have barely even heard about this vote. It's been a "non-issue" in the news, here. There has been minor coverage of the FBI issue with Apple but extremely minor. You'll note the link in the article, "delimiter" is hardly a mainstream news outlet. The main news outlets here (abc.net.au, etc.) haven't even got this on their front page (at the time of this post).

So basically, both sides of government have managed to keep it pretty much below the radar.

I'm not saying it's totally out of the news (I heard it in a news bulletin that lastest about 4 seconds) but the media is not running with this as an issue. So Joe Public will never care because he's never going to even know he should care.

Re: Fucked Country

[Khyber]

Besides the fact that 90% of your country is completely uninhabitable by any sizable human population and you're all cluster-fucked to the coasts?

Re:Once A Prisoner - Always A Prisoner

[Capsaicin]

At least stupidity doesn't skip continents.

You are referring to the summary above I take it ... ;)

What has happened here is that a minor party (the Greens) have, almost on the spur of the moment, put forward a motion without any attempt to shore up political support in either House of Parliament, and --unsurprisingly, not being on the policy agenda of either major party, --said motion was not carried. There was never any intention by Sen Ludlam that his motion pass (he's not insane you know). This was done instead to highlight the issue (and perhaps his party's stance, though I note he was supported by minor parties of various political shades).

To conclude, as the summary does, that "[i]t appears that implementing comprehensive telephone and email retention in Australia may not have been the end of demands by law enforcement in the country" is either wildly misinformed, disingenuous, or outright insane. Now we probably haven't heard the end of demands by law enforcement in Australia, but the ineluctable defeat of this motion in the Senate has little to do with that.

Re: Fucked Country

[chihowa]

Wow. No wonder your government sucks so much if you guys blame the actions of Australian politicians elected by Australian citizens on a different country on the other side of the planet. It's your house: keeping it in order is your responsibility.