I had my final interview on my journey to French citizenship recently. As I think about what it means to "be French", one thing really resonates with me: how France so regularly stands out, in the global landscape, as a nation of principles.
Last week, we saw this when French politicians evoked Marianne, their iconic personification of "Liberté", in defending the digital privacy rights of their citizens.
Following heated debate, a 119-24 vote defeated a measure which proposed forcing messaging platforms to provide unencrypted user data to law enforcement.
As Joe Mullin reports, "The French lawmakers who voted this provision down deserve credit. They listened—not only to French digital rights organizations and technologists, but also to basic principles of cybersecurity and civil liberties."
This decision shows, "you don’t have to sacrifice fundamental rights in the name of public safety."
This is a timely reminder for Australian legislators, who, as Taylar Rajic reported last year, continue to be concerned with criminal use of technology, particularly encrypted communications which hinder law enforcement - known as the "going dark" problem.
The problematic "Access and Assistance" Act of 2018 already contains powers which can compel companies to "build a capability or functionality to provide assistance" to law enforcement - but lawmakers are now mulling granting even greater powers.
The right to privacy is so foundational, so universal, that is is encoded as Article 12 in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Many Australians would assume that this right is protected in Australian law, under a bill of rights, or by constitutional guarantee perhaps. They may be surprised to hear that neither exists.
The Privacy Act of 1988 protects our right to know why our information is being collected, allows us to access our information or correct it - but critically, doesn't protect our right not to have it collected in the first place.
This is precisely the question the French assembly considered and why Australians should be uniquely concerned with government and law enforcement encroachments into privacy-busting data collection.
Last week, we saw this when French politicians evoked Marianne, their iconic personification of "Liberté", in defending the digital privacy rights of their citizens.
Following heated debate, a 119-24 vote defeated a measure which proposed forcing messaging platforms to provide unencrypted user data to law enforcement.
As Joe Mullin reports, "The French lawmakers who voted this provision down deserve credit. They listened—not only to French digital rights organizations and technologists, but also to basic principles of cybersecurity and civil liberties."
This decision shows, "you don’t have to sacrifice fundamental rights in the name of public safety."
This is a timely reminder for Australian legislators, who, as Taylar Rajic reported last year, continue to be concerned with criminal use of technology, particularly encrypted communications which hinder law enforcement - known as the "going dark" problem.
The problematic "Access and Assistance" Act of 2018 already contains powers which can compel companies to "build a capability or functionality to provide assistance" to law enforcement - but lawmakers are now mulling granting even greater powers.
The right to privacy is so foundational, so universal, that is is encoded as Article 12 in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Many Australians would assume that this right is protected in Australian law, under a bill of rights, or by constitutional guarantee perhaps. They may be surprised to hear that neither exists.
The Privacy Act of 1988 protects our right to know why our information is being collected, allows us to access our information or correct it - but critically, doesn't protect our right not to have it collected in the first place.
This is precisely the question the French assembly considered and why Australians should be uniquely concerned with government and law enforcement encroachments into privacy-busting data collection.
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