Originally Posted by
Squawk7700
This reminds me of when CASA applied to be able to access our “metadata” including phone tracking and SMS’s etc..... and they were denied it.
I wouldn’t count on that meaning they aren’t getting access. From
The Saturday Paper dated November 24 -30 2018, pages 1 and 4:
Government agencies are using a loophole to access individuals’ metadata without warrants ...
At least 80 government authorities, from federal and state law enforcers to departments and local councils, are using legal loopholes to lodge 350,000 requests a year for access to Australians’ telecommunications metadata. These requests are made mostly without warrants and often without external oversight, sidestepping the strict national access regime established controversially three years ago.
...
The inquiry by the PJCIS has been told dozens of agencies are routinely bypassing the existing restrictions in the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act, which permits only 22 security agencies to request access to basic unencrypted data.
Instead, many more across government are requesting subscriber details, including names and addresses and other details such as phone records, call durations and locations, using alternative statutory provisions that allow them to bypass the act’s restrictions - including, potentially, agencies among the 22 listed. These provisions allow them to access the information faster and without the oversight of traditional watchdog organisations.
...
Communications Alliance chief John Stanton said a member survey had found at least 80 government bodies had requested unencrypted data by alternative routes using a different law, the Telecommunications Act.
“That’s an everyday occurrence, roughly in the order of 350,000 times a year, Stanton said.
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