[OT] Call to Action to Stop the government's Data Retention bill

[Aryan Ameri]

Some of you might not be aware, but the government has introduced a bill to Parliament that mandates the retention and storage of "metadata" by ISPs for two years. "metadata" is not defined in the bill at all, and as you know might probably contain things such as URL of websites etc. This information is going to be accessible to a lot of parties, law enforcement agencies, as well as local councils and even can be used as evidence in civil trials (so for example they can be used in a divorce settlement). 

There are other huge issues with the bill: there are no protections for secure and safe storage of the data and we all know how easy it is for such databases to be compromised and leaked. Also, the cost is right now unknown, but there is going to be either a cost to the ISPs (which they will pass on to their customers) or the government might compensate them in which case again we the taxpayers foot the bill. 

The bill is not guaranteed to pass. The Greens have said they will vote against it, and so has the Liberal Democrat senator and Nick Xenophon. The Labor party hasn't made up its mind about the issue yet, if they decide to vote against it, there is a real chance that the bill can be defeated in the Senate. 

Writing emails and signing online petitions doesn't do anything. Politicians get lots of them and they get ignored all the time. They are however not used to having someone call them on the phone, or better yet, having someone enter their offices.

So I went to three Victorian Labor Senators' offices and my local MP's office today to talk about data retention.  

I drafted a nice one-page letter where I summarily talked about the problems I see with the bill that's been introduced to Parliament: the privacy and civil rights aspect, the data security and potential breach, the lack of definition of metadata in the bill and potential for scope creep, and the cost of the scheme. 

It was very clear to me that the staff at these offices are not used to having people coming into their office to talk about issues. They were all initially taken aback, but once they got over their surprise and they realised that I was there to talk about a legitimate issue, their demeanor changed and they treated me very politely and respectfully. I might say a couple of them even enjoyed talking to another voter about a real policy issue. 

In Senator Kim Carr and Senator Conroy's offices, I briefly talked about the issue with a staff member and handed my letter to them. In Senator Gavin Marshall's office I got to sit down and had a very interesting and insightful chat with a political advisor. He told me that the ALP hasn't yet made a stance on the issue, but in real politics, it's going to be very hard to make the argument against these "national security" bills. I can more than understand that argument, but the point that I made was that there are those of us who care about this issue, and even though we might not be as loud as the Herald Sun, we do exist and we vote. 

Likewise at my local MP Tim Watts' office I sat down with a staff member who took the time to listen to me and took notes. 

In every case, I can say that being there in person made a huge difference. It made them realise that there are actual people with a name and a face out there who care about this issue. 

I am going to also call the offices of Jason Clare (Shadow Communications Minister) and Mark Dreyfus (Shadow A.G) These are the key people in the ALP who can sway the caucus one way or the other. 

 

The Labor party currently doesn't have a position on the bill yet. It will come up in their caucus soon and they will vote on it.

I urge you, if you care about this, don't just sit and rant online and then complain about how politicians don't represent you. Find the address or phone number of your local member, and especially the Labor senators from your state, and call them, or go to their office. Have a brief summary of your arguments to hand them once you've spoken with someone. It's not that difficult, and it very well can make a difference. 

Even if Labor ends up supporting the bill, at least my conscience is clear that I did something. In years to come, at least I can say, I tried. 

-- 

Aryan Ameri

[Chris McCormick]

Hi Aryan,

On 05/11/14 13:51, Aryan Ameri wrote:
> the government has introduced a bill
> to Parliament that mandates the retention and storage of "metadata" by
> ISPs for two years.

It's commendable that you took the time to visit your representatives,
nice one. I am sure that will have a positive impact.

Here is what worked for me: I sent a signed letter to three of my
representatives and I also emailed them the exact same text. I have
attached the text of my letter if anybody wants text to borrow for their
own text.

This was a win as I received a personal reply from my Labour senator:

"I took the liberty of quoting you at length in Parliament as I spoke of
the concern in my electorate about these excessive laws.

I will be doing my best to fight these excesses."

So that's at least one person on the Labour side who should vote as I
had hoped.

> Writing emails and signing online petitions doesn't do anything.

So I disagree that writing does nothing. Indeed, the more people that do
something (anything) the better, as pressure in numbers even from
tweeting does matter. "Clicktivism" does work at scale.

Here is a website where you can get a list of your senators and some
talking points: <https://stopthespies.org/>

If you care about this please take 2 minutes to tweet to your
representatives. If you email, or write, or visit them, even better.

> The Labor party hasn't made up its mind about the issue yet, if they
> decide to vote against it, there is a real chance that the bill can be
> defeated in the Senate.

Agree, if you decide this is important enough, Labour senators are the
ones to target.

> but in real politics, it's going to be
> very hard to make the argument against these "national security" bills.

Ugh, as a voter it is utterly horrendous for me to hear somebody inside
the the political system express this view.

> I urge you, if you care about this, don't just sit and rant online and
> then complain about how politicians don't represent you.

I think this is actually a good move if you also tweet directly at the
politician involved and if it happens in numbers. It would be more
optimal if everybody who cared about the issue tweeted than if nobody
did anything.

> In years to come, at least I can say, I tried.

Probably not on the public Internet though as you won't be allowed. ;)

Here's that website again (I am not affiliated):

<https://stopthespies.org/>

Please take 2 mins to do anything!

Cheers,

Chris.

--
http://mccormick.cx/

[Aryan Ameri]

On Wed Nov 05 2014 at 17:28:14 Chris McCormick <ch...@mccormick.cx> wrote:

So I disagree that writing does nothing. Indeed, the more people that do
something (anything) the better, as pressure in numbers even from
tweeting does matter. "Clicktivism" does work at scale.

I guess online activism helps in raising awareness. But you'd be surprised how old fashioned some of our politicians are and many of them, including many Labor Senators aren't even on twitter. If something is just online, it doesn't exist for them. When they see someone in flesh and blood, it's different. 

The personal touch, a phone call or a visit to their office can have a huge impact. 

Here is what Senator Ludlam had to say on this: 

http://techgeek.com.au/2014/11/02/senator-scott-ludlam-visits-pax-aus-asks-help-kill-govt-data-retention-plans/

I urge you all, if you care, pick up the phone and make a phone call. It's not that difficult. 

Cheers

PS: Apologies for bringing this off topic issue up here. I thought it was important enough to pester y'all about. Hope no one is offended. 

-- 

Aryan Ameri