This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Australian tech heavyweights, led by Atlassian’s Scott Farquhar, have intensified their call for the government to amend its controversial encryption-cracking bill before the coming election.

Tech companies will gather in Sydney on Wednesday for a public forum where they will call for amendments including clarifying the requirements of employees under the law; creating a clearer definition of designated communications providers; increasing oversight; and narrowing the type of crimes the regime can be used for.

Labor passed the encryption legislation on the final parliamentary sitting day of 2018, withdrawing its amendments in the Senate because it feared failure to pass the bill before Christmas would allow the government to argue it had compromised national security.

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The opposition has subsequently accused the Coalition of reneging on a deal to support amendments consistent with a bipartisan security committee report. A new report from the intelligence committee is due to be tabled when parliament resumes next week for the final sitting week before the election.

The legislation gives law enforcement agencies new powers to deal with the rising use of encrypted applications such as Signal and WhatsApp to keep electronic communications secret. The regime creates a new “computer access warrant” to allow law enforcement agencies to covertly obtain evidence directly from a device, if approved by a judge or member of the administrative appeals tribunal.

Farquhar, Atlassian’s co-founder and co-chief executive, said the government promised in 2018 to revisit amendments to the regime in the new year.

“It is now almost April,” he said. “We are simply asking the government to keep its promise.

“The law has created uncertainty for our staff and our customers. It places the tech industry in a chokehold.

“At a time when the the industry is trying to create jobs for the future, this poorly written law is putting jobs at risk.

“We recognise the government’s duty to keep Australians safe. There are ways to do that without casting a wide net and jeopardising the whole tech community.”

Industry groups including representatives of Facebook, Google, Twitter and Amazon, have already backed several Labor amendments to the encryption bill.

Under Labor’s plan, law enforcement agencies would require a fresh warrant before ordering tech companies to assist or build a new capability to access electronic communications and the bill’s prohibition against creating a “systemic weakness” would be strengthened.

Those amendments have been backed in a submission signed by the Communications Alliance, Australian Industry Group, Australian Information Industry Association and Digital Industry Group Inc, which represents the international tech giants in Australia.

Under the current law, agencies require a warrant or other authorisation to intercept electronic communications but do not require an additional court order to issue notices that can force tech companies to spy on their own users or build capabilities to crack encryption.

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The industry groups have argued this level of oversight is insufficient and it was “only appropriate that the far-reaching powers granted by the legislation are supervised by an eligible judge”.

On Wednesday the tech companies will call for the current definition of designated communications providers to be narrowed to reflect only the services which authorities need, and for further limits on use.

The group says the bar for agencies to use the powers is too low. It says the government has argued the intent is to focus on serious crimes, such as paedophile rings or terrorism, yet the bill defines a serious offence as a crime punishable by a maximum term of three years or more.