Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Crypto-Bashing Prime Minister Argues The Laws Of Mathematics Don't Apply In Australia (independent.co.uk)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the irrational-numbers dept.

An anonymous reader quotes the Independent:Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said the laws of mathematics come second to the law of the land in a row over privacy and encryption... When challenged by a technology journalist over whether it was possible to tackle the problem of criminals using encryption -- given that platform providers claim they are currently unable to break into the messages even if required to do so by law -- the Prime Minister raised eyebrows as he made his reply. "Well the laws of Australia prevail in Australia, I can assure you of that. The laws of mathematics are very commendable, but the only law that applies in Australia is the law of Australia," he said... "The important thing is to recognise the challenge and call on the companies for assistance. I am sure they know morally they should... They have to face up to their responsibility."
Facebook has already issued a statement saying that they "appreciate the important work law enforcement does, and we understand the need to carry out investigations. That's why we already have a protocol in place to respond to any requests we can.

"At the same time, weakening encrypted systems for them would mean weakening it for everyone."

11 of 330 comments (clear)

  1. obey gravity...it's the law by turkeydance · · Score: 4, Funny

    old old joke. couldn't top Turnbull's though.

    1. Re:obey gravity...it's the law by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      The law of mahtematic always apply in sicilicon valley I know I live there making 55K + sideline bisiness.

      The laws of spelling... not so much.

    2. Re:obey gravity...it's the law by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 3, Funny

      Maybe Australia could legislate that pi = 3.0 exactly, since their laws obviously trump mathematics. That'd make calculations so much easier for everyone. Even Australian politicians could now do it on their fingers, at least until they got to ten.

    3. Re:obey gravity...it's the law by denzacar · · Score: 4, Funny

      Oh come on... Think bigger.

      Why not just order that the criminals are no longer protected by the law of gravity?
      So they'll just float away, up into space. Or down, them being in Australia and all.

      Then, they could get rid of those pesky laws of thermodynamics and finally allow Australia to harness the power of all those perpetual motion machines people keep inventing.

      --
      Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
  2. Ancestor found for Malcolm Turnbull by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 5, Funny
    A quick search shows that Malcolm Turnbull has Royal Blood and he is a direct descendant, all the way through male heirs, of King Canute.

    What? Want citation? Just give me 30 minutes and then check Wikipedia.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
  3. I for one by DivineKnight · · Score: 5, Funny

    I for one look forward to Australia's War on Mathematics.

    1. Re:I for one by CRC'99 · · Score: 3, Funny

      I for one look forward to Australia's War on Mathematics.

      We took on the emus once... It didn't go well....

      --
      Sendmail is like emacs: A nice operating system, but missing an editor and a MTA.
  4. Re: If, by his own admission, he is not.... by lightbox32 · · Score: 3, Funny

    He is the Prime Minister after all, so he should know about cryptography... I'll show myself out.

    --
    A camel is a horse created by a committee
  5. Re:Idiots everywhere... by Plus1Entropy · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is great news actually, because it means that this moron is not the PM of Australia. After all, to become PM you must be the leader of the party with the largest representation in parliament. If the laws of Mathematics don't apply, well... how can you say that one number is larger than another?

    --
    Only crack the nuts that crack. You don't put the ones that don't crack in the sack.
  6. Re:Idiots everywhere... by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 5, Funny

    Unfortunately, for most of humanity, including basically all politicians and their fans, that is completely true. Only a small part of the human race qualifies as rational and these people do not seek power.

    Next up? We need to have a vote on Ohm's law! All resistance must be eliminated!

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  7. Re: Idiots everywhere... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Whooooosh