Information technology and the internet are now core parts of our daily lives and, for many of us, core parts of our personal identity. This has brought extraordinary opportunities to make us more connected, increase our productivity and broaden our creative horizons. However, it also brings risks and threats to our personal and political autonomy, data security and cultural identities. While the complexity and reach of the digital world has rapidly expanded the regulatory response has been inadequate and failed to protect our essential digital rights.
Principles
The Australian Greens believe that:
- Digital Rights are an extension of existing rights, should be viewed from a human rights perspective, and must be protected and enforced.
- Individuals must have rights of access to their personal information including the metadata, and rights of control over the use of that information.
- Mass identification surveillance, whether by corporations, governments or other organisations is a dangerous trend and must be strictly monitored with the goal of establishing proper consent, regulation and satisfying formal public interest requirements.
- Everyone should have a Right to Privacy supported by a Right to Erasure by organisations which collect their data.
- Law enforcement authorities must be held to a high standard of compliance with data access laws.
- Metadata retained by telecommunications companies and internet communication services (apps) should only be accessed by warrant.
- Personal information collected by government agencies must be stored within the Australian national territory.
- Voice and face recognition technologies, along with other biometrics, are a potential threat to an individual's right to privacy and there should be strong legislation governing and limiting their use.
- Use of machine learning and artificial intelligence can have unintended consequences, causing immense harm. The principles governing the use of these technologies should include transparency, justice and fairness, harm-minimisation, responsibility and privacy.
- The effect of adoption of automation technologies on workers and the broader society must be considered, and the wealth created through their use must be equitably shared across society.
Aims
The Australian Greens want:
- A new generation of privacy laws to protect an individual’s rights to personal data and ensure that data is legally owned and controlled by the individual with a right to have it erased.
- A consolidation of existing privacy laws to help organisations and regulators understand, comply with, and enforce them under the supervision of an independent regulator.
- To require that organisations obtain prior and informed consent from users from whom they collect data, supported by easy to understand and adequate information about data collection, storage and usage, and their associated measures and processes; and ensuring that these systems of data collection are opt-in.
- Minimisation of the amount of personal identification data and sensitive personal information that businesses, government agencies and other organisations may require and store.
- To require government agencies and key private institutions that do store personal information to ensure it be stored in Australia.
- The physical infrastructure on which personal information is kept by an Australian government to be retained in public ownership.
- Ensure there is a low barrier required for prosecution and that strong penalties are imposed when personal data is unlawfully collected and mishandled.
- Require that all breaches of personal data are reported in a timely manner to the relevant authority and to the people affected.
- A right to privacy to include a mechanism allowing compensation to be sought when data is improperly collected, mishandled, misused, or breached.
- All law enforcement agencies to obtain valid warrants from senior judicial officers before access is granted to an individual’s data.
- A full repeal of the metadata retention scheme. While it still exists, there needs to be further restrictions on access to metadata from law enforcement authorities.
- Real-time monitoring of government agencies' compliance with data access laws by a well-resourced, public independent authority.
- To comprehensively review the operations and necessity of all Australian intelligence agencies and their collaborations with foreign powers.
- Strong regulation on the collection and usage of biometric data, including voice and facial recognition software.
- Greater transparency for all digital platforms with a focus on what an algorithm is producing.
- Strong limitations and restrictions on the collection and processing of children’s data for the purposes of profiling, behavioural advertising, or other uses.
- All deployment of artificial intelligence must be strictly monitored by an independent regulatory expert body to assess these new technologies.
- To require digital rights impact assessments for machine learning and other technologies that can negatively affect the public.
- To plan mitigations for the changes caused by machine learning technologies through a just transition framework.
- Any new powers given to regulators of digital technology must be under public, open and structured scrutiny. These powers are to be granted gradually over time to allow for the outcomes and consequences of these new powers to be well understood.
(Digital Rights and Information Technology Policy as amended by National Conference June 2023)