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What fascinates* me about comments like this is that the Assistance & Access Act has nothing to do with where the hosting is, and everything to do with whether a communication is to or from Australia. Just having customers in Australia triggers the Act. #aabill
I know some people choke at reading 1200 whole words, some of them long, but we spent some time putting some facts into this one: “What’s actually in Australia’s encryption laws? Everything you need to know” (10 Dec 2018) zdnet.com/article/whats-… #aabill
It’s also amusing* that Lemieux’s tweet says “‘if” the law passes. The Assistance & Access Act was passed on 6 December. It’s been law for nearly four months, and is already being used. #aabill
None of this should be read as a defence of the law. I’m just whinging about people opining about stuff they haven’t got their head around. Yes, I know, I am an idiot. #aabill
See also:
“Australia’s encryption laws will fall foul of differing definitions” zdnet.com/article/austra…
“Australia’s encryption laws are ‘highly unlikely’ to dragoon employees in secret” zdnet.com/article/austra… #aabill
“Australia’s encryption laws will fall foul of differing definitions” zdnet.com/article/austra…
“Australia’s encryption laws are ‘highly unlikely’ to dragoon employees in secret” zdnet.com/article/austra… #aabill
And finally in this whinge, where we’re up to:
“Duelling ghosts battle over encryption laws in a dying Parliament” (15 Feb) zdnet.com/article/duelli…
“Amendments to Australia’s encryption laws stranded before election” (3 Apr) zdnet.com/article/amendm…
#aabill
“Duelling ghosts battle over encryption laws in a dying Parliament” (15 Feb) zdnet.com/article/duelli…
“Amendments to Australia’s encryption laws stranded before election” (3 Apr) zdnet.com/article/amendm…
#aabill
Goddammit I said “finally” and I’m still fuming at the stupidity of it all and now I’ll have to shut up. I hate every single one of you. #aabill
I have just realised this tweet is about the Criminal Code Amendment (Unlawful Showing of Abhorrent Violent Material) Act 2019, which was passed last night, not the Assistance & Access Act 2018, but on that point... #aabill
Hosting and content providers already have an obligation to prevent streaming of, or remove content that is, child abuse material. This new Act in effect just extends that to content by perpetrators of terrorist activity, murder, torture, rape, or kidnapping... #aabill
Such companies should already have procedures in place to deal with child abuse material, so it’s really just an extension of that. #aabill
Then we have comments like this, “You cant report the news”, when the Act specifically relates to the material created by the actual perpetrators, and there’s cutouts for “reporting in the public interest” and a bunch of other stuff. #aabill
(I am still tagging this #aabill even though it’s nothing to do with the Assistance and Access Act because I want to maintain the thread for people who don’t know how threads work.)
I see that @dobes’ yarn also quotes some muppet Senator having a whinge that broadcasters aren’t included in this new Act. zdnet.com/article/austra… Well this muppet is an ignorant muppet for one very clear reason... #aabill
The sector Codes of Practice every broadcaster agrees to under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, or the ABC Act, or the SBS Act, already effectively ban the broadcast of this material, except for public-interest journalism. Internet companies are such fuckin’ sooks. #aabill
But rather than find out what’s actually in the new legislation, tech companies and those precious little petals with “startups” have of course reverted to their standard operating procedure. #aabill
Now, if someone could explain to me why Shopify (Shopify!) would suffer because its shopkeepers can’t live-stream a terrorist torturing a captive I’d be most grateful. Dipshits. #aabill
Also “knee-jerk” and “flawed”, the backlash again the laws.
(This is not a criticism of @arielbogle’s as-always excellent reporting on these issues.)
(This is not a criticism of @arielbogle’s as-always excellent reporting on these issues.)
“DRW say it could curtail the reporting of human rights abuses”? No, it would not. Here’s why...
Here’s the SPECIFIC exemption in the Act. 
The actual legislation and explanatory memorandum are over here if anyone should want to, you, know, read it. parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/searc…
(Issues such as the legislation not being available for comment before it was voted on, or whether it’s well-drafted r not, are separate matters. I’m talking solely about what the legislation does, or at least is intended to do, and the Hot Takes by people who haven’t read it.)
