Banished NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has warned that Australia has gone further down the slippery slope of unfettered mass surveillance than even the US. Yesterday Snowden pointed to the recent raids by the Australian Federal Police on the offices of senior ALP parliamentarian Senator Stephen Conroy and a staffer of Opposition communications spokesman Jason Clare to illustrate the potential danger of using retained metadata for nefarious political purposes.
In 2015 the current LNP Government and representatives embarked on a campaign to sell mandatory data retention to the Australian public, with rhetoric centred on its necessity to curb dangerous criminal activities such as terrorism.
Speaking by satellite in a video link to a packed auditorium in a Melbourne event staged by Think Inc, Snowden pointed to the use of metadata by the AFP to find the sources of journalists' articles about NBN cost overruns as a stark example of how the Australian data retention laws have already been misused for political purposes.
“It is ironic that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was Communications Minister at that time (when cost overruns occurred),” said Snowden.
According to Snowden, the rhetoric used by advocates of mandatory data retention, increased government surveillance and laws weakening personal privacy is disingenuous at best and maliciously mischievous at worst.
"Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say,” he said, repeating his often used mantra.
He also discredited the statement: “If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear” by attributing the words to Nazi propagandist Josef Goebbels.
Snowden, invoking his credentials as a security expert, claimed that there has been no evidence that mass surveillance is effective in preventing terrorism or other criminal acts.
“In all my time with the CIA and NSA, there has not been any evidence that a single terrorist incident has been been prevented.”
Snowden also said that not a single life had been lost as a result of his whistleblowing activities.
When asked by a member of the audience if he would support mass surveillance or mandated data retention if it was shown to be effective, his answer was an emphatic no, saying that you could also make the case that plucking suspects off the street and murdering them was effective.
The much awaited iTWire Shop is now open to our readers.
Visit the iTWire Shop, a leading destination for stylish accessories, gear & gadgets, lifestyle products and everyday portable office essentials, drones, zoom lenses for smartphones, software and online training.
PLUS Big Brands include: Apple, Lenovo, LG, Samsung, Sennheiser and many more.
Products available for any country.
We hope you enjoy and find value in the much anticipated iTWire Shop.
iTWire TV offers a unique value to the Tech Sector by providing a range of video interviews, news, views and reviews, and also provides the opportunity for vendors to promote your company and your marketing messages.
We work with you to develop the message and conduct the interview or product review in a safe and collaborative way. Unlike other Tech YouTube channels, we create a story around your message and post that on the homepage of ITWire, linking to your message.
In addition, your interview post message can be displayed in up to 7 different post displays on our the iTWire.com site to drive traffic and readers to your video content and downloads. This can be a significant Lead Generation opportunity for your business.
We also provide 3 videos in one recording/sitting if you require so that you have a series of videos to promote to your customers. Your sales team can add your emails to sales collateral and to the footer of their sales and marketing emails.
See the latest in Tech News, Views, Interviews, Reviews, Product Promos and Events. Plus funny videos from our readers and customers.
Stan Beer assists with Digital Advertising installation and monitoring of advert performance. With 35 plus years of experience working in IT and Australian technology media, Beer has published articles in most of the IT publications that have mattered, including the AFR, The Australian, SMH, The Age, as well as a multitude of trade publications. Any previous news story submissions should be director to editor@itwire.com and advertising enquires to andrew.matler@itwire.com
