It's disappointing that this has had very little coverage and/or discussion in the tech community outside Australia. I realise it's at a national level and the

It's disappointing that this has had very little coverage and/or discussion in the tech community outside Australia. I realise it's at a national level and therefore a domestic piece of legislation, but that doesn't stop internet users the world over rallying together on issues like net neutrality and SOPA. For days, the SOPA campaign was everywhere. It too was a domestic (US) piece of legislation, but it's "forced" on other uses (through sites like Reddit, etc.) in countries where it doesn't specifically apply. The data retention scheme proposed by the Australian Government is draconian. It has very little public oversight, it costs consumers money and inhibits the free ideal of the internet. At a basic level, the spooks want every IP address of every consumer for every connection to be kept (by the ISP) for two years. My name, address (subscriber information) will be tied to my IP by the ISP. I connect at 5:43am to Facebook. That's logged. I leave Facebook and log onto Reddit at 5:55am, that's logged. For two years. I send an email to Activists-R-US at 6am, that's logged. Not the "content", just the fact that I did it. And, best of all, it's all classified as "metadata", so accessing the records doesn't even need a warrant. In fact, any agency in the country with "investigative powers" can request the records from the ISP. That includes, and is not limited to, councils who are investigating lost dogs or parking infringements. The Attorney-General in Australia, George Brandis, couldn't even describe or explain what he wanted to be retained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbtgULCY5zk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbtgULCY5zk We already have fairly tight rules when it comes to internet spying. Every ISP - to get a carrier licence - needs to submit a Interception Capability Plan (ICP) with the Government, explaining how it can - if necessary - tap that connection for spying. If you change your network and it changes the way the lines are tapped, you have to let the Government know straight away. We also have mandatory retention orders, which can be applied to a subscriber account if a court sees fit. This orders the ISP to keep the information on the user for a limited time. If the authorities have their suspicions, they have ample opportunity to get what they want under the current laws. Data retention is, as I said, draconian. It turns presumption of innocence on its head, and it will be used - one day - to track down to prosecute and jail journalists and whistleblowers. It will eventually be used to track down and prosecute copyright infringers and "trolls". I realise that's a slippery slope argument, but legislation - once it's on the books - is often used for things it wasn't intended for.