Australians increasingly worried about surveillance powers

Three-quarters of Australians are worried about legislation that has made it easier for the federal government and law enforcement agencies to gain access their private digital information, according to a new poll.

The poll, undertaken by Essential Research in July 2019 on behalf of Digital Rights Watch, shows that:

• 76% of people are concerned that telcos and ISPs retain data on every Australian;
• 71% are concerned that law enforcement agencies are allowed to break into encrypted communications systems;
• 74% of those polled are worried about the recent AFP raids on the homes and offices of journalists.
   

“We know that people are concerned about the raft of powers that have been given to law enforcement over the past few years. There is a glaring lack of transparency and oversight over how these powers are used,” said Tim Singleton Norton, Chair of Digital Rights Watch.

“In the last year alone, government agencies made more than 300,000 requests for metadata, with only five of these requests being refused. That’s a huge disparity, and one that points to what we’ve known all along — for the government to suggest this is anything other than blanket surveillance of the Australian population is ridiculous.”

Norton said the recent Commonwealth Ombudsman’s report has exposed the true extent of metadata requests and the “complete lack of due process from law enforcement agencies”.

“A huge number of requests for access to metadata were completely unauthorised and unwarranted — and the public are right to be concerned about this,” he added.

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Brian Jackson

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