Social media giants will be compelled to pass encrypted messages on to Australiansecurity agencies under new laws introduced by the Turnbull government on Friday.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the new laws were needed to target terrorists, paedophile rings and organised crime gangs.
Similar laws already affected telco companies, hesaid.
We have the right now to get the cooperation from the telephone companies. What we dont have is the legal right to get that sort of cooperation from the internet companies like Facebook, or WhatsApp, or Telegram and so forth, and Google, Mr Turnbulltold Channel Sevens Sunrise program.
He said the legal system needed to catch up with technological changes.
We cannot allow the internet to be used as a place for terrorists and child molesters and people who peddle child pornography and drug traffickers to hide in the dark.
Those dark places online must be illuminated by the law.
Im not talking about giving intelligence agencies backdoors or anything underhand. This is simply saying the rule of law must prevail online as it does offline.
Attorney-General George Brandis told ABC Radio hed been assured it was feasible to seize encrypted messages from WhatsApp or Signal.
What this does is merely contemporise for the modern era what is a well-established legal principle, and that is persons, including companies, can be subject to an obligation to assist law enforcement in resolving crimes and that principle shouldnt depend upon the nature of the technology, Senator Brandis said.
What we are proposing to do, if we cant get the voluntary cooperation that we are seeking, is to extend the existing law that says to individuals, citizens and to companies, in certain circumstances you have an obligation to assist law enforcement if its within your power to do so.
The laws that exist at the moment predate the development of encryption, all we are seeking to do is to apply an existing principle to a new technology.
Senator Brandis said he would introduce the laws between now and the end of the year.
He told Sky News the proposed laws had nothing to do with mass surveillance and most Australians would not be impacted.
It is not mass surveillance and its not going to make their everyday dealings in social media insecure, Senator Brandis said.
The fact is that information security is a very high value. It is an economic benefit. It matters to people and the Government is determined to protect it.
But having said that, there is also an important value to be served in protecting national security.
David Glance, Director of the University of Western Australia Centre for Software Practice, said it was not knownhow the proposed laws would take effect.
Although Brandis referred to the UKs Investigatory Powers Act, the UK Government hasnt actually made public how dealing with encrypted messages would work, Dr Glance toldThe New Daily.
There is obviously the debate about whether this will really help them in any event Plus, they are [already] able to hack peoples devices, get metadata, et cetera. So the question is why isnt that enough?
Dr Glance said encrypted messages could only be decoded if the companies involved weakened their encryptions and stored user keys.
He said people had reason to be concerned about what it could mean for them.
Not necessarily from the government but from criminals and hackers who will exploit weakened security to snoop, steal intellectual property, identities and other things.
Obviously there is a contradiction in their attempts to increase cybersecurity against nation state attacks and at the same time, weakening encryption to allow them to access anyones communications. They cant have it both ways.
Anthony Albanese told Channel NineLabor would consider the legislation.
The New Dailyhas contacted Greens spokesperson for communications Senator Scott Ludlam for comment.
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Turnbull government to compel social media giants to hand over encrypted messages - The New Daily
