http://www.zdnet.com/au/roxon-calls-for-cold-shower-on-data-retention-hysteria-7000003742/
Roxon calls for cold shower on data-retention 'hysteria'
Summary: Attorney-General Nicola Roxon has called for a "cold shower" on the public reaction to the government's proposal to log Australians' internet history for up to two years.
Australian Attorney-General Nicola Roxon has said that the public reaction to the government's proposal to require internet service providers (ISPs) to retain customer data for up to two years has been hysterical, and that the government is asking for much less than has been claimed.
Roxon gave a speech on Tuesday stating that forcing ISPs to retain customer data for up to two years is required to ensure that law-enforcement agencies can continue to investigate crime. Reaction to Roxon's announcement saw an unusual alliance between organisations such as Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA), the Institute of Public Affairs, GetUp, and the Greens, all of which expressed outrage over the plan. And although the Coalition hasn't made its position on the issue known formally, Liberal backbencher Steve Ciobo compared the proposal on Tuesday to something that would have been seen in Nazi Germany during World War II.
"I think that this proposal is akin, frankly, to tactics that we would have seen utilised by the Gestapo or groups like that,"
In fact, part of the paper states that the government may need to collect "communications content", not just the data, from companies such as Facebook and Google.
Communications Alliance CEO John Stanton told the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) conference in Sydney yesterday that the government has failed to explain on a number of fronts what data needs to be retained for law-enforcement purposes
http://www.zdnet.com/au/australian-customers-could-pay-for-govt-spying-7000003655/
Australian customers could pay for govt spying
Summary: ISP customers might have to pay for the privilege of having their internet browsing data stored for law-enforcement agencies if government plans go ahead, according to Optus.