abbot government wants to know your download volumes

[DiscoStu]

anyone who thinks this data retention bullshit isn't about copyright is a fool

Mr Dalby said he was unable to provide Fairfax with a copy due to its classification. Fairfax subsequently sought a copy under freedom of information laws on Monday night from the Attorney-General's Department. The request has not yet been processed.

On Tuesday, News Corp's The Australian newspaper said it had obtained a copy and reported some of its details, but didn't publish it online.

The newspaper said the document defined the metadata wish-list as "including financial records, home and internet-protocol addresses and download volumes". Some of these details had not been mentioned as part of what the government might consider metadata. There is no legal definition of the term.

Mr Dalby said there was nothing in the document that should prevent it from being released publicly.

"I don't see anything in the paper that should not be freely available to the community at large. This is a democracy, not a police state. Why isn't the Attorney-General releasing this publicly? There's nothing in [it] that ... would compromise the security of Australia by being circulated."

Asked if Australians should be concerned about what's in the paper, Mr Dalby said: "You should be concerned that you don't have access to it."

Mr Dalby added that "new" matters in the document - previously not discussed publicly - concerned him

"They have introduced new things that raise our concern that haven't been previously mentioned by [Attorney-General] George Brandis, [Prime Minister] Tony Abbott or [ASIO director-general] David Irvine or anyone else," he said.

"So we will have to take some care looking at this."

John Stanton, chief executive officer of telecommunications industry group the Communications Alliance, confirmed he received the document on Friday and distributed it to select members.

"We've received a definitional document from the government and telecommunications companies are meeting today to provide some consolidated feedback on its contents," Mr Stanton said on Tuesday, but did not criticise the nature in which the paper was distributed. He said he could not provide a copy to Fairfax.

Jon Lawrence, executive officer of online digital rights lobby group Electronics Frontiers Australia, said it was not right for government to hold the discussions in secret.

He said the previous government used similar tactics in 2010.

Then, telcos were provided with a confidential briefing paper by the Attorney-General's Department. Discussions and a subsequent paper disclosed what metadata law-enforcement agencies wanted stored as part of potential national security reforms.

A copy of the document was obtained under freedom of information but was highly redacted out of fear it could cause "premature, unnecessary debate".

Other documents have since surfaced under subsequent freedom of information requests.

"It is of course absolutely inappropriate that this government, which has shown no desire to engage in civil society to date, seems to think that the only people they have have to consult is the telecommunications companies," Mr Lawrence said on Monday night.

"Given that we're not even sure that the Attorney-General knows what he's asking for, I think it's appropriate that he seek the input of civil society on these matters, given his apparent commitment to free speech."

After a disastrous interview in which Senator Brandis said metadata included the "web addresses" you visit, Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull ruled them out of the data retention scheme.

Already, telcos hand over customer metadata to comply with hundreds of thousands of requests by a large number of agencies, including to the federal and state police, RSPCA and Australia Post. Spy agency ASIO also accesses the data, though it is not required to report its figures.

Access does not require a warrant. Instead, a form is filled out and signed off by a senior officer.

The data divulged can include numbers called and received, and URLs visited online, it was revealed last week. Information such as the start and finish time of a call or internet session, the duration, and the location from where the call or internet request was made can also be revealed.

ASIO chief David Irvine and Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Andrew Colvin have said in recent weeks that access to web browsing histories in their view would require judicial oversight, despite Telstra revealing it had disclosed URLs to law-enforcement agencies without a warrant in "rare" cases.

Mr Stanton said he hoped the federal government would open public debate after industry consultation.

"My assumption is that there will be a public debate about this," he said.

"Ultimately I think that's important."

The Attorney-General's office has been contacted for comment.

Shaddow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the secret discussion paper showed that the government had "still not figured out what type of metadata it wants compulsorily retained by telcos".

"It appears [the] working definition it has circulated in its secret industry consultation goes beyond any previous proposal," Mr Dreyfus said.

"It is apparently different to the definition the government provided to a Senate committee inquiry only weeks ago."

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/data-retention-discussion-shrouded-in-secrecy-20140826-108fdr.html

[Slocombe]

Here's a copy of the discussion paper that was leaked today

http://images.smh.com.au/file/2014/08/27/5711351/Data_retention_consultation_1.pdf

[Swiper]

smash the state

[indigo264nm]

That Time When Probably Malcolm Turnbull Showed Maybe The AFP What A VPN Was Because Data Retention

Edited August 31, 2014 by indigo264nm

[ThunderIdeal]

i wonder if that article ^ paints an accurate picture of what's going on behind the scenes????

remember when p2p started being targeted in the USA, what was the easiest workaround used by downloaders? i don't have any p2p software installed, but i recall that some torrent clients have some kind of "make me anonymous" option. is it seriously that simple to avoid being so transparent in your downloading?

i know some australian ISP's comply with demands to harass their own customers, and others don't. i just wonder how easy it actually is to avoid being spotted and therefore how pointless it might be for attempts at enforcement.

[C_T]

thunder, when you connect to a eg. Torrent through p2p, you can see all the ip addresses of people you are connecting to, both receiving and sending data to.

most copywrite infringement notices come from agents being paid to get onto those torrents, from eg piratebay, and note down all the ip addresses and then send infringement notices to the ISP's who cover those ip adresses.

using a peer guardian or other such that spoofs the ip can remove this...

but don't think for a minute your fooling your isp or the government.

edit: by agents, i mean company's paid by eg warner brothers

Edited October 11, 2014 by C_T