Earlier today, the Australian Senate passed a sweeping new ‘anti-terror’ law that will allow the Australian government to conduct mass surveillance on all of its citizens, will make whistleblowing on intelligence issues a crime, and threatens to criminalize basic reporting. The bill is an enormous threat to press freedom, free speech, and privacy, and we condemn it in the strongest terms.

The bill still has to pass Australia’s House and be adopted by the country’s prime minister. We implore both the House and Prime Minister to re-consider, but many believe it a foregone conclusion that the bill will become law of the land as early as next week.

The Sydney Morning Herald describes the provision that seeks to criminalize whistleblowing and reporting: