Slashdot Mirror


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

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."

13 of 330 comments (clear)

  1. 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
  2. The PM is an idiot. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Malcolm Turnball (or Chairman Mal as we call him) is an ex lawyer from a privileged background who lucked into dropping a few bucks into some 1990's "computer thingy that my financial advisor assures me is a good investment" and riding in the wave of the first tech boom, to the tune of about 300 million dollars.

    He honestly considers himself the smartest person in the room.

    He's a fucking lawyer who won life's big lottery.

    I'm sure you guys have similar stories about your politicians.

    The sooner this imbecile is gone from politics, the better.

  3. sacrifices without actually addressing problem by z3alot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Aside from eliminating privacy for everyone, can measures like this be expected to actually fight terror or crime at all? Encryption is essentially a solved problem; a coordinated terror group needs only do a little work to make its own app using strong end to end encryption in the backend. Insisting that popular messaging apps be insecure simply robs the common citizen from privacy protection tools without addressing the problem which is claimed to be tackled.

    1. Re:sacrifices without actually addressing problem by sit1963nz · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Terrorism is the excuse, not the reason
      The reason is so those in power can snoop on the population and control the population.

      A quick read about "numbers stations" shows how information can be broadcast but the recipients can not be traced.

      A conversation with the Brits about how the IRA were able to operate for decades without computers and encryption would also be enlightening.

      And of course people have something to hide, a high flying lawyer who like to dress in women clothes at night, a gay footballer who is not "out", a politician who visits prostitutes, a bored housewife on Tinder, a family whose children may have different fathers, an abused wife who has a secret bank account, there are thousands of legitimate reasons for privacy and security.
      If any of these people became an activist, the dirt the government gathers will allow them control.

  4. I for one by DivineKnight · · Score: 5, Funny

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

  5. Re:obey gravity...it's the law by sheramil · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "I know dis defies da law of gravity... but I never studied law!" - Bugs Bunny

    Mr Turnbull has. What is with politicians today making nonsensical statements like this? I would have thought to get to the position of Prime Minister - or President - you'd at least have to have had some experience in thinking before opening your yap.

  6. transcript of Turnbull's press conference by caviare · · Score: 5, Informative
  7. Re:obey gravity...it's the law by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Douglas Adams might have something to share on the topic:

    “The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.
    To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.
    To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.”

  8. Re:Idiots everywhere... by flopsquad · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Can't take this anymore...

    Hard realization: If there was a brief blip on humanity's timeline where science and rationality held the tiniest advantage in our collective esteem over base tribalism, fearmongering, and ignorance-as-a-worldview, it came and went while we were busy mistaking it for a new era of reason.

    --
    Nothing posted to /. has ever been legal advice, including this.
  9. Re:obey gravity...it's the law by sg_oneill · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It makes me uncomfortable to say it, but he's prefereable to 99% of the others. I suspect that statement, made in the UK to a UK paper, was made to impress politicians in the UK that he's being tough and standing up to the cyber-terrorists.

    Whatever Turnbull may be as a person, is pretty much redundant as he's completely incapable of standing up to the regressives in his party. He's so frightened of being rolled by the catholic far right in the party (Tony abbot, etc) he's sold everything he stood for down the river and just does whatever the ultra conservartives tell him to do, even s that behavior further sinks his reputation down the toilet of public opinion.

    And the stupefying thing is, he's still getting knived by the far right anyway. He gains nothing by continuing to inflict unpopular and authoritarian far right nonsense on the population.

    --
    Excuse the Unicode crap in my posts. That's an apostrophe, and slashdot is busted.
  10. Re: Idiots everywhere... by Tangential · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It shall soon be illegal to speak in person without government authorities present to ensure nothing illegal is being discussed.

    The government rep wouldn't have to be present if they could just convince people to carry small, wirelessly connected computing devices in their pockets that contain cameras and microphones. If people were to start doing that, then the government would be pretty much be able to monitor anything it wants anytime it wants.

    Luckily, I doubt there's much chance of getting folks to carry such a device around with them at all times....

    --
    Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of congress. But then I repeat myself. -- Mark Twain
  11. 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.
  12. 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.