If Senate won’t defeat #DataRetention bill terrorists and criminals will: @sortius comments

With the federal government’s metadata retention bill having passed the lower house, and all but assured to pass the senate, the technical implications are still sketchy at best. Costing an estimated $400 million a year (a figure that will no doubt be revised up substantially), the legislation isn’t a cheap exercise in flag waving like […]

Civil liberties councils bring #Citizenfour to Canberra. @jeevens reports.

There’s a nagging sensation in your gut when you watch Citizenfour. The BAFTA award-winning documentary by Laura Poitras is an exploration of the modern surveillance state, the Five Eyes Alliance (of which Australia is a part), and the Edward Snowden revelations, and the concerns it raises – particularly for those who haven’t been following the […]

Breaking News: Sex, Lies and the Murdoch Succession by Paul Barry

By Margaret O’Connor 1 November 2013 If you want a quick and telling glimpse of the psychopathology that infested Rupert Murdoch’s power house tabloid News of the World (NoTW), turn to the Leveson Inquiry Hearings for Wednesday, 29 November, 2011. On that day, Paul McMullan, ex-NoTW reporter, reluctantly gave testimony about his work practices there – […]

The basics on blogging and tweeting without getting sued

Margo: This is the third post in our series exploring the meaning of journalism. Professor Mark Pearson, an expert in media law, outlines the basic legal issues journos must keep in mind. by Mark Pearson May 29, 2013 Countless laws might apply to the serious blogger and citizen journalist because Web 2.0 communications transcend borders into […]