Telcos starts customer data harvest, Internet Australia says government may not meet objectives

A web camera is seen in front of a Skype logo in this photo illustration taken in Zenica, May 26, 2015. Reuters/Dado Ruvic

Australian telcos are slated to start to harvest and store customer information this week. The metadata, however, will not be utilised in civil legal proceedings, the federal government said.

The administration of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull reportedly chose not to alter the existing safeguards following a review into the matter found “insufficient reason” for granting exceptions. The Attorney General’s department said the existing restrictions on civil litigants accessing data gathered under the mandatory data retention scheme would remain.

Telcos is required to hold on to customer metadata for two years under the program which passed the senate in March 2015. In October 2015, the law officially came into effect, but telcos have until April 13 to ensure that their metadata collection systems are in place.

Metadata is the essential information that can be utilised for creating a digital footprint of a person. In phone calls, for instance, the information on the duration, time, date and location of the call is the metadata, not what was said. The mandatory retention resulted to debates between government and privacy advocates.

The Communications Alliance said several telcos are not totally prepared as the end of the implementation period approaches. The government considers metadata as a building block in counter-terrorism, organised crime investigation and counter-espionage. Meanwhile, some argue that it takes away the privacy of citizens with no real gain. Privacy advocates have also expressed concerns around how easily the system can be bypassed.

Communications via Skype, FaceTime or Facebook messenger will not be stored. Virtual private networks (VPN) also provide protection as it hides internet traffic and since it is affordable and easy to install, VPN usage rose in Australia.

“The recent uptake in Australians purchasing the services of VPNs serves to show that the public don’t appreciate having their online privacy violated,” advocacy group Digital Rights Watch said. Internet Australia believes that there is a possibility that the scheme is not going to achieve its objectives.

“The fact is, the government doesn’t actually know how many ISP’s there are much less how to find them all”, Internet Australia executive chair Anne Hurley said according to a report by the Australian. The scheme will eventually put some smaller telcos out of business according to a forecast by the Internet Australia. Hurley noted that several ISP’s who provide niche particularly in regional Australia are faced with another technical and financial obstacle that puts the very viability of their businesses at risk, the Australian reported.