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Please be aware FastMail is subject to Australian law. [1] The government is scrambling to pass laws for mass surveillance [2] and controversial data retention

by sasas 12y ago

Please be aware FastMail is subject to Australian law. [1] The government is scrambling to pass laws for mass surveillance [2] and controversial data retention laws. [3] [1] https://www.fastmail.com/help/legal/privacy.html https://www.fastmail.com/help/legal/privacy.html [2] https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/09/australian-government-scrambles-authorize-mass-surveillance https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/09/australian-government-... [2] http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/oct/16/privacy-advocates-say-australia-is-breaking-new-ground-in-data-retention http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/oct/16/privac...

vincentkriek 12y ago
What other email host would you advice that is on better law?
- TheSisb2 12y ago
  Honestly, none. :/
- danchristian 12y ago
  https://runbox.com https://runbox.com
bad_user 12y ago
I find such warnings to be distasteful. Especially given that most people are using Gmail, or Outlook / Office365, or Yahoo! Mail, all of them coming from companies that can be and have been coerced by the NSA, without the people finding out about it until those leaks. In fact, as a European citizen, I would be more comfortable with an Australian company, than with a US-based one, simply because the governmental agencies in non-US countries are less competent than the US is at mass surveillance. But the fact of the matter is ... if you do not encrypt your email on the client-side, you can't expect privacy protections from a global enemy that has the resources for MITM attacks. All the protection you can hope for is against local enemies (organized crime syndicates, competition, etc.) So here we have a smaller player that's competing against big companies such as Google, Microsoft and Yahoo and the first comment is about fear mongering about some laws that haven't even passed yet and targeting a company that has nothing to do with it. Don't take this the wrong way, but seeing this from a community of entrepreneurs is disappointing.
- lena 12y ago
  I appreciated the heads-ups about this in this thread. I have been a Fastmail customer for years, and didn't realize they were subject to Australian law. It's very relevant to me, and even though the laws haven't passed yet, major privacy organizations seem concerned enough. It's not easy to change e-mail providers, most people pay a year or more in advance, so it's good to be aware of these important issues. It also could give the company a chance to reassure customers, but I must say that "If the laws change such that we need to say anything different in our privacy policy, then we will definitely make a public statement about those changes" is not the reassurance I was looking for. I have come to expect good tech companies to vehementely oppose laws like this, actively fight against them, organize protests or at least publicly support the opposition (as in the anti SOPA/PIPA efforts in the US), etc. Not just say "We will update our privacy policy if necessary".
- Fastidious 12y ago
  I see nothing distasteful about it. He is not saying people should not use FastMail. He simply noted something many people might not note.
- sasas 12y ago
  I had hoped for no bias in my comment - just to increase awareness. The changes in related laws in Australia are unprecedented [1] and are passing as we speak [2][3] The comments on their own privacy page is about to become outdated or misleading - Australia has strong privacy laws in relation to email, specified in the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979. [4] As an EU citizen you are offered more protection then many other regions of the world, at least from a regulatory perspective - Under EU law, personal data can only be gathered legally under strict conditions, for a legitimate purpose. Furthermore, persons or organisations which collect and manage your personal information must protect it from misuse and must respect certain rights of the data owners which are guaranteed by EU law. [5] Please watch the youtube like referenced below to get a feeling of the insanity - [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srk9c4rOgZ4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srk9c4rOgZ4 [2] http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/australias-expanded-anti-terror-laws/story-fn3dxiwe-1227076460793?nk=5d5974c612ee016e329ea9417fea665e http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/australias-... [3] http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/antiterror-laws-rob-australians-of-freedoms-isis-hate-security-expert-says/story-fnjwmwrh-1227073688494 http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/antiterror-laws-rob... [4] https://www.fastmail.com/help/legal/privacy.html https://www.fastmail.com/help/legal/privacy.html [5] http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/ http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/

by sasas 12y ago

vincentkriek 12y ago

What other email host would you advice that is on better law?

TheSisb2 12y ago
Honestly, none. :/
danchristian 12y ago
https://runbox.com https://runbox.com

bad_user 12y ago

I find such warnings to be distasteful. Especially given that most people are using Gmail, or Outlook / Office365, or Yahoo! Mail, all of them coming from companies that can be and have been coerced by the NSA, without the people finding out about it until those leaks. In fact, as a European citizen, I would be more comfortable with an Australian company, than with a US-based one, simply because the governmental agencies in non-US countries are less competent than the US is at mass surveillance. But the fact of the matter is ... if you do not encrypt your email on the client-side, you can't expect privacy protections from a global enemy that has the resources for MITM attacks. All the protection you can hope for is against local enemies (organized crime syndicates, competition, etc.) So here we have a smaller player that's competing against big companies such as Google, Microsoft and Yahoo and the first comment is about fear mongering about some laws that haven't even passed yet and targeting a company that has nothing to do with it. Don't take this the wrong way, but seeing this from a community of entrepreneurs is disappointing.

lena 12y ago
I appreciated the heads-ups about this in this thread. I have been a Fastmail customer for years, and didn't realize they were subject to Australian law. It's very relevant to me, and even though the laws haven't passed yet, major privacy organizations seem concerned enough. It's not easy to change e-mail providers, most people pay a year or more in advance, so it's good to be aware of these important issues. It also could give the company a chance to reassure customers, but I must say that "If the laws change such that we need to say anything different in our privacy policy, then we will definitely make a public statement about those changes" is not the reassurance I was looking for. I have come to expect good tech companies to vehementely oppose laws like this, actively fight against them, organize protests or at least publicly support the opposition (as in the anti SOPA/PIPA efforts in the US), etc. Not just say "We will update our privacy policy if necessary".
Fastidious 12y ago
I see nothing distasteful about it. He is not saying people should not use FastMail. He simply noted something many people might not note.
sasas 12y ago
I had hoped for no bias in my comment - just to increase awareness. The changes in related laws in Australia are unprecedented [1] and are passing as we speak [2][3] The comments on their own privacy page is about to become outdated or misleading - Australia has strong privacy laws in relation to email, specified in the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979. [4] As an EU citizen you are offered more protection then many other regions of the world, at least from a regulatory perspective - Under EU law, personal data can only be gathered legally under strict conditions, for a legitimate purpose. Furthermore, persons or organisations which collect and manage your personal information must protect it from misuse and must respect certain rights of the data owners which are guaranteed by EU law. [5] Please watch the youtube like referenced below to get a feeling of the insanity - [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srk9c4rOgZ4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srk9c4rOgZ4 [2] http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/australias-expanded-anti-terror-laws/story-fn3dxiwe-1227076460793?nk=5d5974c612ee016e329ea9417fea665e http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/australias-... [3] http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/antiterror-laws-rob-australians-of-freedoms-isis-hate-security-expert-says/story-fnjwmwrh-1227073688494 http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/antiterror-laws-rob... [4] https://www.fastmail.com/help/legal/privacy.html https://www.fastmail.com/help/legal/privacy.html [5] http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/ http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/