[Linux-aus] Encryption bill and open source

[Paul Shirren]

On 7/12/18 8:49 am, Paul Gear via linux-aus wrote:

> Is there still time to call our MPs?  (Not being a mainstream news
> watcher/reader, I don't know the best source to find this out.)

I guess it never hurts but it is hard to see how it makes a difference.
This was posted on Reddit by user pwnies:

> For what it's worth, myself and some colleagues read through every
> single letter written during the open comment period
> <https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-and-support/how-to-engage-us/consultations/the-assistance-and-access-bill-2018>.
> We wanted to know what percentage of people agreed with the bill so
> we tallied up the results in a spreadsheet
> <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dowpZ_Xtr1N_DgkHJN8iinbqRd1peTgQp_fSL0vELDA/edit?usp=sharing>.
>
> Out of all 343 responses, only one
> <https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/how-to-engage-us-subsite/files/assistance-access-bill-2018/uniting-church-in-australia-synod-of-victoria-and-tasmania.pdf> was
> in support of the bill. When it comes time to vote again, remember
> that on a bill related to technology nearly every MP ignored the
> feedback from:
>
>   * Australian citizens (not a single individual who wrote in was in
>     support)
>   * Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Atlassian (one of the biggest tech
>     companies in Australia), and every other member of the Software
>     Alliance <https://www.bsa.org/about-bsa/bsa-members>.
>   * The Internet Architecture Board, Internet Australia, the
>     Australian Information Industry Alliance, the Australian Human
>     Rights Commission, and countless other oversight organisations.
>   * MIT's Internet Policy Research Initiative and countless other
>     people who have doctorates/immediate experience in this field.
>
> And instead represented a single church in Tasmania's stance on a bill
> completely unrelated to them.
>
https://www.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/a3j466/assistance_and_access_bill_2018_just_passed_the/eb75et6/