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Australians 'will be troubled' by Google, Facebook and Apple surveillance by US Australians 'will be troubled' by Google, Facebook and Apple surveillance by US
(4 months later)
Australians will be “very troubled” by revelations that the US National Security Agency has obtained direct access to the data of non-US users of Google, Facebook, Apple and other internet giants, the opposition communications spokesman, Malcolm Turnbull, has said.Australians will be “very troubled” by revelations that the US National Security Agency has obtained direct access to the data of non-US users of Google, Facebook, Apple and other internet giants, the opposition communications spokesman, Malcolm Turnbull, has said.
Turnbull said he was “seeking clarification” from the US government about the revelations in the Guardian.Turnbull said he was “seeking clarification” from the US government about the revelations in the Guardian.
“Australians will be very troubled by the allegation in the Guardian and other publications that the US National Security Agency is engaged in large-scale, covert surveillance of private data belonging to non-US citizens held by American companies such as Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Youtube,” Turnbull said.“Australians will be very troubled by the allegation in the Guardian and other publications that the US National Security Agency is engaged in large-scale, covert surveillance of private data belonging to non-US citizens held by American companies such as Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Youtube,” Turnbull said.
The total number of internet users in Australia was estimated to be around 79% of the population according to figures released by the World Bank in 2012. Facebook has 11.8 million Australian users, which is more than half of the population (although there will be multiple accounts and inactive users). Google does not release country-specific user figures, but it put global Gmail user numbers at 425 million in 2012. Apple is also rather opaque in terms of Australian users, but there are believed to be more than 4m iPhones in the country.The total number of internet users in Australia was estimated to be around 79% of the population according to figures released by the World Bank in 2012. Facebook has 11.8 million Australian users, which is more than half of the population (although there will be multiple accounts and inactive users). Google does not release country-specific user figures, but it put global Gmail user numbers at 425 million in 2012. Apple is also rather opaque in terms of Australian users, but there are believed to be more than 4m iPhones in the country.
The NSA access was enabled by changes to US surveillance law, renewed by Barack Obama in December 2012. It allows for the targeting of any customers of participating firms who live outside the US, or those Americans whose communications include people outside the US.The NSA access was enabled by changes to US surveillance law, renewed by Barack Obama in December 2012. It allows for the targeting of any customers of participating firms who live outside the US, or those Americans whose communications include people outside the US.
The Australian Greens senator Scott Ludlam is demanding the government tell Australians whether it believes it is appropriate that US intelligence agencies “appear to be engaged in warrantless real-time surveillance of the entire online population”.The Australian Greens senator Scott Ludlam is demanding the government tell Australians whether it believes it is appropriate that US intelligence agencies “appear to be engaged in warrantless real-time surveillance of the entire online population”.
Ludlam also wants to know whether the Australian intelligence community has access to the material gathered and whether this could be linked to the push by the attorney general’s department for Australian internet service providers to keep metadata for two years.Ludlam also wants to know whether the Australian intelligence community has access to the material gathered and whether this could be linked to the push by the attorney general’s department for Australian internet service providers to keep metadata for two years.
“This is not just a US matter. Pretty much every Australian uses these services. I can’t wait to see what the Australian government has to say,” he told Guardian Australia.“This is not just a US matter. Pretty much every Australian uses these services. I can’t wait to see what the Australian government has to say,” he told Guardian Australia.
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, said through a spokeswoman it was “the long-standing practice of successive Australian governments not to comment on national security and intelligence capabilities”.The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, said through a spokeswoman it was “the long-standing practice of successive Australian governments not to comment on national security and intelligence capabilities”.
He said the government took privacy protection “very seriously” and had reformed the Australian privacy act.He said the government took privacy protection “very seriously” and had reformed the Australian privacy act.
The Gillard government plan to force Australian telecommunications companies to store metadata for two years appears unlikely to be voted on before the September election, it now appears.The Gillard government plan to force Australian telecommunications companies to store metadata for two years appears unlikely to be voted on before the September election, it now appears.
A joint parliamentary inquiry into controversial proposed national security changes – including that telcos, internet service providers and sites such as Facebook be legally required to collect metadata from users and store it for two years – will be tabled this month.A joint parliamentary inquiry into controversial proposed national security changes – including that telcos, internet service providers and sites such as Facebook be legally required to collect metadata from users and store it for two years – will be tabled this month.
But the laws, which the government said were designed so that security agencies could keep up with the rapidly changing nature of communications, are well down the list of legislative priorities and are unlikely to come to a vote in the remaining two weeks of parliamentary sittings.But the laws, which the government said were designed so that security agencies could keep up with the rapidly changing nature of communications, are well down the list of legislative priorities and are unlikely to come to a vote in the remaining two weeks of parliamentary sittings.
The shadow attorney general, George Brandis, has promised a Coalition government would “examine them carefully”.The shadow attorney general, George Brandis, has promised a Coalition government would “examine them carefully”.
He has expressed concerns about how metadata and content can be separated by online providers.He has expressed concerns about how metadata and content can be separated by online providers.
He said: “The public would accept a level of mandatory data retention in relation to telecommunications. They would accept the logic of a regime being technology-neutral and reaching the internet, but my political judgment is that there is no way the public wouldn't react very strongly against a proposal unless they were absolutely guaranteed that their internet browsing history or use would not be subject of the mandatory retention regime.''He said: “The public would accept a level of mandatory data retention in relation to telecommunications. They would accept the logic of a regime being technology-neutral and reaching the internet, but my political judgment is that there is no way the public wouldn't react very strongly against a proposal unless they were absolutely guaranteed that their internet browsing history or use would not be subject of the mandatory retention regime.''
Turnbull said that if the revelations were correct, it could also undermine the commercial strategies of US companies pushing cloud storage services for data.Turnbull said that if the revelations were correct, it could also undermine the commercial strategies of US companies pushing cloud storage services for data.
“These reports have potentially very significant commercial implications. There is a massive global trend to cloud services. The vast majority of the cloud service providers are US companies. These companies have, with US government support and endorsement, been promoting their services globally, and have sought to allay concerns that data hosted by them would have less privacy protection than it would in Australia. Today's reports elevate those concerns to an even higher level especially since it has been alleged that foreign-owned data hosted by US internet companies has lesser protection than data belonging to US citizens,” Turnbull said.“These reports have potentially very significant commercial implications. There is a massive global trend to cloud services. The vast majority of the cloud service providers are US companies. These companies have, with US government support and endorsement, been promoting their services globally, and have sought to allay concerns that data hosted by them would have less privacy protection than it would in Australia. Today's reports elevate those concerns to an even higher level especially since it has been alleged that foreign-owned data hosted by US internet companies has lesser protection than data belonging to US citizens,” Turnbull said.
Figures released last year showed Australian government agencies, including law enforcement agencies, accessed private telecommunications data and internet logs more than 300,000 times in 2011-12, during criminal and revenue investigations.Figures released last year showed Australian government agencies, including law enforcement agencies, accessed private telecommunications data and internet logs more than 300,000 times in 2011-12, during criminal and revenue investigations.
• Additional reporting by Nick Evershed• Additional reporting by Nick Evershed
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