Why does privacy matter?

There is a prevailing thought that only people who have something to hide need to care about their privacy.

The reality is that everyone has things that they want to hide. There are all sorts of things that we do or think that we are willing to share with our doctor, lawyer, accountant, spouse or best friend that we would be mortified for the rest of the world to know.

When we're in a state where we know we might be being watched, our behaviour changes dramatically. Mass surveillance creates a prison in the mind that is a much more effective means of fostering compliance than even the application of intimidation or force.

A society in which people can be monitored at all times is a society that breeds conformity, obedience and submission.

More importantly, depriving people of a realm of privacy where they can think and converse and debate without the fear of the judgement of others creates a society where the essence of what makes us human is crippled.

These proposed laws to implement mandatory data retention for two years with the data available to authorities without a warrant, will impact the freedom of the masses with only the slightest improvement in the prevention of serious crime.

AFP commissioner Andrew Colvin told reporters: "Illegal downloads, piracy, cyber crimes, cyber security, all these matters - our ability to investigate them is absolutely pinned to our ability to retrieve and use metadata."

Retaining metadata can not be about stopping crimes that the community cares about such as terrorism, child abuse & drug trafficking because the technology is available to anyone who cares to look for it that can hide your activity from your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

These laws will only serve to create a massive database of potentially embarrassing or incriminating information about us that could be used and misused for any number of purposes.

Does your ISP have the security processes in place to vet everyone who works there to make sure they won't release your data into the public domain? Many ISPs are small to medium business that hire staff at the lowest rates they can, so I doubt it.

I understand what this data is intended to be used for but I am concerned that once it exists it will be a source of evidence in a myriad of other civil, personal and commercial disputes.

I urge our political leaders to seek advice from technically competent professionals and either completely drop or significantly amend these laws to ensure that the internet in Australia remains a place where people can go without the constant fear of big brother looking over their shoulder.

(Sources include Sydney Morning Herald and Glenn Greenwald)