The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has held that local telco, Lycamobile, has breached service provider rules under the Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth) (the Act). Under the Act, telecommunications companies are obliged to provide Telstra Corporation with certain information about consumers in order to maintain the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND). The ACMA investigation …
The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) has released a submission to parliament claiming that “there is no legitimate reason for a law-abiding member of the community to own or use an encrypted communication platform”. This comment came about due to the fact that parliament is considering expanding the power of the federal police as well …
Similar to Australia’s “anti-encryption” agenda, India has developed a set of regulations that pose a serious threat to users’ privacy online. As such, Facebook-owned WhatsApp instituted proceedings against the Indian government over its new traceability powers and ‘oppressive internet rules’. WhatsApp employs end-to-end encryption, meaning that only the sender and receiver have access to the …
Following a critical report, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has called for a temporary ban on the use of facial recognition and other biometric algorithms in important government decision making until concrete legislation is enacted. The AHRC’s report came about due to the lack of regulation and policy on the use of artificial intelligence …
It is my great pleasure to announce that Iris Rad has recently joined Arnotts Technology Lawyers. Iris is a Technology Lawyer with a particular focus on the digital assets space. Iris advised on Australia’s first IPO to accept digital currencies, the merger between Blockchain Australia and the Australian Digital Currency Association and has acted in …
In an unexpected announcement, the country of El Salvador plans to accept Bitcoin as a legal tender. Amongst the international governmental disapproval of Bitcoin, this push by El Salvador may be the first step to wider regulatory adoption of cryptocurrency. El Salvador is currently in the process of drafting legislation to congress that will enable …
One of the world’s largest investment management companies, Vanguard, has rejected Bitcoin and cryptocurrency as an asset class. With the increasing demand for digital currencies around the globe, Vanguard has made it clear that it will not support the creation of Australia’s cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF). In finance, ETFs are used to invest in a …
Alan Arnott, Director at Arnotts Technology Lawyers has been short-listed for the Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards 2021. Alan has been named as a finalist in the Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards for two categories – Technology Law; and Media & Telecommunications. The Partner of the Year Awards recognises and …
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) alongside several international law enforcement agencies recently revealed their secret against encrypted criminal activities around the globe. In a united front, the FBI, Australian Federal Police (AFP), and several European law enforcement agencies, such as Europol, conducted 800 international criminal arrests due to their hidden network monitoring. As it …
In a data-driven society, the NSW Police force has revealed how it sifts through terabytes of data each day. In late 2017, the NSW Police rolled out a new digital IT strategy, which included the addition of the Policing Operating System (IPOS). This initiative was implemented to help parse data acquired by CCTV cameras, body …