Australia’s two main parties yesterday struck a deal to pass sweeping cyberlaws requiring tech giants to help government agencies get around encrypted communications used by suspected criminals and terrorists.
The laws are urgently needed to investigate serious crimes such as terrorism and child sex offences, the conservative government said, citing a case involving three men accused of plotting attacks who used encrypted messaging applications.
However, critics including Google, Facebook and privacy advocates warn that the laws would weaken cybersecurity and be among the most far-reaching in a Western democracy.
The bill is expected to pass parliament by tomorrow, which is the end of the sitting week.
The opposition Labor Party said that the ruling Liberal-National coalition had addressed some of its concerns by agreeing to improve oversight and beef up safeguards in the proposed bill.
“Let me be clear, this bill is far from perfect and there are likely to be significant outstanding issues,” Australian Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement, national broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corp reported. “But this compromise will deliver security and enforcement agencies the powers they say they need over the Christmas period.”
Law enforcement agencies urgently need the measures to stop terror suspects and others from hiding their activities, the government said.
Under the planned laws, Canberra could compel local and international providers to remove electronic protections, conceal covert operations by government agencies, and help with access to devices or services.
Companies that do not comply would face multimillion-dollar fines, the government said in August, although government requests could be challenged in court.
The draft legislation expands obligations to assist investigators from domestic telecom businesses to encompass foreign companies, including any communications providers operating in Australia.
This means that social media Web sites and messaging services such as Facebook and Whatsapp, as well as gaming platforms with chat features, could be covered.
The government has said it is not asking tech firms to build in backdoors to access people’s data.
However, Digital Industry Group Inc, which represents major players such as Twitter and Amazon, last week said in a submission to the Australian Parliament House that the bill as it stands would force them to create vulnerabilities in their operations that could be exploited by hackers.
The proposed changes are based on the UK “snooper’s charter” surveillance powers passed in 2016.
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