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foreign

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floriani

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Sam is a digital rights activist and

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writer based in Melbourne they are

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currently the program leader digital

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Rights Watch where they advocate for a

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liberatory digital future in which

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everyone confront everyone can thrive

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they're going to talk to us about human

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rights and Tech policy in Australia with

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digital rights and digital wrongs please

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welcome Sam

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[Applause]

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hmm

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I'd like to start with some stories

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so a teenager and her mother discuss

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accessing vital Medical Care on a

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popular social media platform

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now this form of Medical Care is widely

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recognized as essential but it's

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recently become criminalized

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they think that they're having a private

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conversation but their messages are not

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encrypted

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the social media platform hands over

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their Communications data to law

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enforcement and the teenager goes to

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prison and it looks like the mother will

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follow

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a woman has built her entire Community

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online she spent hours weeks months

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building up her brand finding her

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community making friends she's earning a

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living

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now she knows that she works in a pretty

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stigmatized area so she makes sure that

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she's really careful to abide by the

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rules of the platform

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but they are vague and they do seem to

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change all the time

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she's got a whole Community there she's

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got access to a support network they're

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sharing you know crucial health and

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safety information together and then in

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an instant she loses it all all of her

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friends all of her community all of her

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pictures her videos her memories it's

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all gone and there's no Pathway to

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appeal

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a man is looking for a home

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it's the middle of a housing crisis and

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he's really stressed out so he's going

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to rental inspections and he's using

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whichever app the real estate agent asks

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him to

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he starts to become a little bit

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uncomfortable with the kinds of

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questions that they're asking especially

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as they become more and more invasive

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and they kind of seem irrelevant to his

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ability to pay rent

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but he doesn't want to be Troublesome or

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annoying because he knows that that will

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make it all the more hard to secure a

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rental

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he misses out on securing a home again

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and again and again because an

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algorithmic scoring system downranked

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him and he has no idea why and no way to

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do anything about it

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a young woman

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is living her life given that it's the

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modern digital economy she has a mobile

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phone

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and then one day her telecommunications

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provider has a massive data breach

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they blame hackers but she later finds

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out that maybe their digital security

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wasn't quite up to scratch

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her details are online and she has no

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idea how to protect herself or her

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identity

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a few weeks later her health insurer

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also has a massive data breach more of

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her details are online creating an Ever

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more complete picture of her and her

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life

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these companies in the news say things

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like oh well we don't know of anybody

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who's been harmed as a result of these

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breaches and yet she lives her life

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every day in fear that her ex-partner

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will be able to find out with a little

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bit of effort where she lives

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so I could fill my entire time slot with

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stories like these

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and these stories are all connected

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they're all digital rights issues

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and all of these stories are based on

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real events and they have really real

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impacts on people's rights safety and

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well-being

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there are countless examples of ways in

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which digital Technologies are

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intersecting with systems of Oppression

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Injustice and inequality and in many

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ways making things worse

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conversely digital technology has

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immense potential to improve the way

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that we live work and connect given that

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you're here today I don't think I need

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to convince you of the good that

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technology can do and it's immense

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possibilities

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but the risks and possible consequences

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when it goes wrong are immense and

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that's where digital rights come in

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so digital rights are human rights the

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only real difference is that they

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specifically take digital Technologies

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into account

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too often when people talk about digital

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rights and harms they think about them

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in kind of like an abstract sense sort

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of ethereal you know we think about it

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happening in cyberspace but not in the

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real world

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but as you've just heard from these

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stories that I shared to begin with they

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do have real tangible material impacts

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on people's lives and as the Divide

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between online and offline continues to

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collapse digital rights become ever more

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important

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and so the fight for digital rights at

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its core is about protecting people from

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these kinds of harms and more

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but more than that more than just

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protecting people from the bad stuff

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it's all about it's also about you know

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envisaging and working towards and

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ushering in a world where technology is

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really a force for social good

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So today we're going to delve into the

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world of digital riots where Tech

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politics and human rights combine

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so in this session we're going to do a

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little crash course on digital rights to

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begin with that I'm going to go through

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the digital wrongs and give you a bit of

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uh uh um a Roundup of some tech policy

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in Australia and then we're going to

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finish up with some tips on how you can

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get involved if I've done my job well

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and you feel so inclined

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um before we go much further you

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probably want to know a little bit more

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about me that's my cat

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um she's my biggest fan and I love her

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so much my name is Sam as um Daisy said

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thank you for your introduction and

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thank you so much for pycon and all of

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the organizers and volunteers for

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putting this on today it's a real honor

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to be here and to all of you for coming

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along and coming with me on this journey

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um I in my day-to-day life have the

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privilege of living and working on

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unseated lands of the royal wandering

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people of the cooler Nations

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um and it always was and always will be

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Aboriginal land

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my background is in politics and data

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science and I've worked in privacy

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somewhere or another for about 10 years

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in the uh in the public sector in the

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private sector and now in the

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not-for-profit space I also have done uh

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stint as the pro program director at

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code like a girl which is organization

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all about creating Pathways for women

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and non-binary people into Tech careers

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and advocating for more inclusive gender

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representation in the tech industry

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and now I'm the program lead at digital

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Rights Watch

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which is a civil society organization

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that exists to defend digital rights and

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to protect digital rights in Australia

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we do a couple of things that digital

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Rights Watch so we advocate for rights

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respecting socially Progressive Tech

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policy so that means doing things like

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writing submissions going to

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parliamentary hearings talking with

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industry talking with government and

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most of that work happens kind of behind

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the scenes

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uh we also contribute to the public Tech

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discourse so things like coming here

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today to chat with you about digital

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riots or talking to the media or running

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events and campaigns and things

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and we are working to build the digital

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rights movement in Australia so sadly

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the digital ads movement in Australia is

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pretty small to be honest and it's

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filled with like brilliant dedicated

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people but it's chronically underfunded

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and under-resourced so what we do is we

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try to work with different organizations

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people across law Tech social justice

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other community groups to try and build

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that movement because we we know that

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we're more powerful together

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okay so as I said before digital rights

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are human rights as realized in the

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digital age

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so that's a pretty big concept so I

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thought we'd break some of that down

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so one aspect of fighting for digital

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rights is protecting and upholding human

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rights that existed long before the

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Advent of the internet so things like

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the right to privacy freedom of

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expression freedom of speech freedom of

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assembly and so on so these things

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existed long before the Advent of the

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internet

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and something to be aware of as we go on

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is that Australia doesn't have a federal

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Human Rights Act or Charter and we're

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the only Western liberal democracy that

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doesn't have one and this sadly makes

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the fight for digital rights all the

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more challenging

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now for me the right to privacy is

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absolutely pivotal in this fight and

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that's because it is what we can call an

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enabling right

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so privacy is really important in and of

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itself but it also enables us to enjoy

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other rights and freedoms

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for example if you think of any social

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movement that's you know pushed back

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against powerful institutions for social

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change it is incredibly difficult to do

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that incredibly hard to organize a

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protest or coordinate a union or you

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know build a community based on

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Resistance if you are if you have no

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privacy if you're under constant

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surveillance and so privacy enables us

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to gather and share and organize outside

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of the view of those who might want to

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be listening in

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it's also tied to Notions of

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self-determination personal agency

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dignity autonomy the ability to develop

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one's self sense of self and personality

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it's also closely linked to ideas of

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anonymity which is really important to

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keep lots of people safe online

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especially in a digital ecosystem where

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it's increasingly possible to track

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everything that we do

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so these are all really powerful

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Concepts and they're really important to

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us as individuals but also collectively

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as a community and more broadly for

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Society at Large

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so another aspect of fighting for

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digital rights is to fight for the

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establishment and protection of newer

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rights or reimagine rights that are fit

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for the digital age

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for instance many now argue that access

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to the internet should be considered a

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right

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and given that so much of our Lives

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happens online and you know accessing

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Services work socializing it makes sense

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that this shouldn't necessarily be

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considered a luxury anymore and this is

285
00:11:02,700 --> 00:11:07,079
connected to the idea of digital

286
00:11:03,959 --> 00:11:10,399
inclusion and the digital divide and

287
00:11:07,079 --> 00:11:12,480
just shy of 10 of Australians are still

288
00:11:10,399 --> 00:11:14,959
greatly excluded from the digital

289
00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:14,959
economy

290
00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:19,320
digital security is another thing that

291
00:11:17,459 --> 00:11:21,980
people are starting to consider in terms

292
00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:21,980
of a right

293
00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:27,240
now all of these things are actually

294
00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:28,920
really connected and before I came here

295
00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:30,660
as I was you know working away on my

296
00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:33,180
talk I was like how can I possibly

297
00:11:30,660 --> 00:11:35,760
communicate to these people just how you

298
00:11:33,180 --> 00:11:38,399
know sort of connected all of these

299
00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:39,120
things are and it got it got pretty

300
00:11:38,399 --> 00:11:42,240
um

301
00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:43,440
hectic in my brain to be honest and

302
00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:45,180
where we're going is going to look a

303
00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:47,339
little bit like this so I apologize in

304
00:11:45,180 --> 00:11:48,779
advance it's uh I promise I'm not going

305
00:11:47,339 --> 00:11:50,399
to Pedal like a conspiracy theory

306
00:11:48,779 --> 00:11:53,459
anything

307
00:11:50,399 --> 00:11:55,079
so this is my mind map it's a map of my

308
00:11:53,459 --> 00:11:57,720
mind it's what keeps me up at night I

309
00:11:55,079 --> 00:12:00,720
have nightmares about this it haunts me

310
00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:02,700
um and there are probably infinite ways

311
00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:04,019
that we could create a map like this so

312
00:12:02,700 --> 00:12:05,459
you know if you've got your binoculars

313
00:12:04,019 --> 00:12:08,279
out and you want to pull me up on

314
00:12:05,459 --> 00:12:10,680
something don't at me it's it's just one

315
00:12:08,279 --> 00:12:13,440
example and the idea is to demonstrate

316
00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:16,560
how these things are connected

317
00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:18,240
so in the blue nodes we've got uh rights

318
00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:19,560
not all of them I can't fit them all on

319
00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:21,240
this screen

320
00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:23,760
so you can see the right to privacy

321
00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:26,640
right to protest yada yada

322
00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:29,160
in the purple we have Concepts so ideas

323
00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:31,980
like surveillance capitalism

324
00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:33,959
which is the idea of data extraction and

325
00:12:31,980 --> 00:12:35,700
accumulation for profit

326
00:12:33,959 --> 00:12:39,180
and you can see that that is connected

327
00:12:35,700 --> 00:12:41,339
to datification which is the idea that

328
00:12:39,180 --> 00:12:43,680
everything that we do these days is able

329
00:12:41,339 --> 00:12:46,200
to be transformed into data and that's

330
00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:49,019
connected to data positivism which is an

331
00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:51,000
ideology that basically reports that we

332
00:12:49,019 --> 00:12:53,399
can solve any complex social problem if

333
00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:56,880
we just have enough information enough

334
00:12:53,399 --> 00:12:59,339
data and spaced on this assumption that

335
00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:01,680
everything in the world is knowable and

336
00:12:59,339 --> 00:13:03,720
measurable and therefore predictable

337
00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:06,720
this ideology is actually really popular

338
00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:10,440
in in Silicon Valley for example the

339
00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:12,420
ex-ceo of Google once said that they

340
00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:14,940
could solve practically any complex

341
00:13:12,420 --> 00:13:17,279
social problem with just enough data and

342
00:13:14,940 --> 00:13:18,839
the ability to Crunch it

343
00:13:17,279 --> 00:13:21,000
so this is connected to the idea of

344
00:13:18,839 --> 00:13:22,920
techno solutionism which is a word to

345
00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,660
describe the phenomenon where we you

346
00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:28,019
know really try to solve complex social

347
00:13:24,660 --> 00:13:30,660
problems by throwing technology at it

348
00:13:28,019 --> 00:13:33,000
and try or attempt is sort of a key word

349
00:13:30,660 --> 00:13:35,579
there because in a lot of instances it

350
00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:38,459
actually makes things worse

351
00:13:35,579 --> 00:13:40,980
and that's not to say that Tech and data

352
00:13:38,459 --> 00:13:43,620
can't play a really important role in

353
00:13:40,980 --> 00:13:45,660
addressing critical social problems but

354
00:13:43,620 --> 00:13:48,240
it is to say that when we are too quick

355
00:13:45,660 --> 00:13:50,339
to jump to it without considering the

356
00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:53,100
social and political consequences and

357
00:13:50,339 --> 00:13:55,380
contexts then it can end up just

358
00:13:53,100 --> 00:13:58,320
creating more problems

359
00:13:55,380 --> 00:14:00,779
so data positivism create combined with

360
00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:03,779
datification creates this environment

361
00:14:00,779 --> 00:14:06,360
that incentivizes and justifies

362
00:14:03,779 --> 00:14:09,180
collecting more and more data including

363
00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:11,459
personal information and this fantasy of

364
00:14:09,180 --> 00:14:14,339
data positivism establishes this kind of

365
00:14:11,459 --> 00:14:16,260
moral mandate for ever more intrusive

366
00:14:14,339 --> 00:14:18,959
data collection and invasion of privacy

367
00:14:16,260 --> 00:14:20,279
it's Justified as a way to solve these

368
00:14:18,959 --> 00:14:22,019
social problems

369
00:14:20,279 --> 00:14:23,579
and so what we end up with is this kind

370
00:14:22,019 --> 00:14:25,620
of cognitive dissonance where you have

371
00:14:23,579 --> 00:14:27,480
you know some companies operating under

372
00:14:25,620 --> 00:14:29,700
a very clear surveillance capitalism

373
00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:31,440
business model but at the same time

374
00:14:29,700 --> 00:14:34,160
spouting rhetoric about how they're

375
00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:34,160
helping people

376
00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:39,480
now perhaps

377
00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:41,279
um you're really interested in the the

378
00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:42,360
climate the climate the environment the

379
00:14:41,279 --> 00:14:44,820
world that we live in perhaps you want

380
00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:47,040
to see climate action now that might not

381
00:14:44,820 --> 00:14:49,620
automatically you know make be really

382
00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:51,660
easily identifiable how that connects to

383
00:14:49,620 --> 00:14:52,980
digital rights but it does so if we

384
00:14:51,660 --> 00:14:54,959
think about

385
00:14:52,980 --> 00:14:56,279
the right to protest and political

386
00:14:54,959 --> 00:14:58,320
organizing

387
00:14:56,279 --> 00:15:00,060
so climate protesters are some of the

388
00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:01,740
most heavily criminalized activists in

389
00:15:00,060 --> 00:15:03,360
Australia

390
00:15:01,740 --> 00:15:05,279
so for climate activists or any

391
00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:07,740
activists really they need to be able to

392
00:15:05,279 --> 00:15:09,540
do their work by communicating securely

393
00:15:07,740 --> 00:15:12,480
and privately and safely with each other

394
00:15:09,540 --> 00:15:14,940
through encrypted services

395
00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:16,680
activists and protests also are often

396
00:15:14,940 --> 00:15:18,720
needing to be really aware of State

397
00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:20,760
surveillance and through things like

398
00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:23,160
facial recognition technology or other

399
00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:25,500
biometric surveillance

400
00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:26,720
it was only last year that the New South

401
00:15:25,500 --> 00:15:29,820
Wales police

402
00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:32,100
imposed bail conditions that prohibited

403
00:15:29,820 --> 00:15:33,959
climate activists from being able to use

404
00:15:32,100 --> 00:15:35,040
encrypted services like WhatsApp or

405
00:15:33,959 --> 00:15:37,680
signal

406
00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:40,380
so all of this sits within a broader war

407
00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:42,420
and encryption and a rise of the use of

408
00:15:40,380 --> 00:15:45,060
facial surveillance Technologies and I

409
00:15:42,420 --> 00:15:48,180
think it's worth pointing out how this

410
00:15:45,060 --> 00:15:49,920
Canon does have flow on effects a

411
00:15:48,180 --> 00:15:52,440
thriving and functioning democracy

412
00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:54,660
relies on our ability to hold those in

413
00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:56,880
power accountable and again that's very

414
00:15:54,660 --> 00:15:58,560
hard to do if you don't have any privacy

415
00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:01,800
or you're under constant surveillance

416
00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:04,440
but we'll get to more on that shortly

417
00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:06,000
this is also a good moment I think to

418
00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:07,920
acknowledge that safeguarding encryption

419
00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:09,839
and resisting facial surveillance is

420
00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:11,639
important for everyone and benefits

421
00:16:09,839 --> 00:16:14,399
everyone you don't need to be doing

422
00:16:11,639 --> 00:16:15,720
anything even remotely sus to benefit

423
00:16:14,399 --> 00:16:17,639
from this

424
00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:18,899
in fact framing it is something that

425
00:16:17,639 --> 00:16:21,000
only benefits people who have something

426
00:16:18,899 --> 00:16:22,380
to hide is actually really problematic

427
00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:24,420
and damaging

428
00:16:22,380 --> 00:16:26,820
everybody deserves

429
00:16:24,420 --> 00:16:28,260
to digital security and privacy and to

430
00:16:26,820 --> 00:16:30,779
be able to go about their day-to-day

431
00:16:28,260 --> 00:16:32,579
lives safely and securely even if it's

432
00:16:30,779 --> 00:16:34,920
just you know using signal to chat to

433
00:16:32,579 --> 00:16:37,500
your dad

434
00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:39,600
that being said a short word on

435
00:16:37,500 --> 00:16:42,000
criminality in a moment I'm going to

436
00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:43,560
talk about surveillance powers and

437
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:46,079
something to keep in mind is that these

438
00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:47,759
are often Justified around ideas of

439
00:16:46,079 --> 00:16:49,139
criminality you'll hear people say

440
00:16:47,759 --> 00:16:50,220
things like oh what does it matter

441
00:16:49,139 --> 00:16:51,899
though they're just going to use these

442
00:16:50,220 --> 00:16:53,579
powers on criminals it'll never impact

443
00:16:51,899 --> 00:16:55,560
us

444
00:16:53,579 --> 00:16:58,079
but I think it's important to note that

445
00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:59,940
laws can change and so too can the

446
00:16:58,079 --> 00:17:01,920
notion of criminality

447
00:16:59,940 --> 00:17:03,899
so here in Australia we've seen that

448
00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:06,360
directed specifically towards climate

449
00:17:03,899 --> 00:17:09,600
activists in the last 18 months

450
00:17:06,360 --> 00:17:11,760
in the US we've witnessed how access to

451
00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:14,100
pregnancy termination Healthcare became

452
00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:16,020
criminalized really quickly

453
00:17:14,100 --> 00:17:18,240
in many places around the world simply

454
00:17:16,020 --> 00:17:19,079
being part of the lgbtq community is

455
00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:21,299
enough

456
00:17:19,079 --> 00:17:23,160
we also can't ignore the racial and

457
00:17:21,299 --> 00:17:25,319
classist elements when it comes to

458
00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:27,000
considering what's criminal and what's

459
00:17:25,319 --> 00:17:29,040
not who deserves to be under

460
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:30,660
surveillance and who doesn't

461
00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:32,820
and so I would strongly suggest that we

462
00:17:30,660 --> 00:17:35,100
exercise real caution when we think

463
00:17:32,820 --> 00:17:37,620
about what when it is or is not

464
00:17:35,100 --> 00:17:39,720
appropriate to use invasive Technologies

465
00:17:37,620 --> 00:17:41,580
for surveillance and to justify it in

466
00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:44,280
those terms

467
00:17:41,580 --> 00:17:45,059
so maybe climate activism isn't really a

468
00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:46,860
bag

469
00:17:45,059 --> 00:17:50,340
let's use one more example before we get

470
00:17:46,860 --> 00:17:52,799
out of this nightmare mind map

471
00:17:50,340 --> 00:17:56,340
so perhaps you have kids or you know

472
00:17:52,799 --> 00:17:58,020
kids or you just care about the safety

473
00:17:56,340 --> 00:17:59,820
and well-being of children and young

474
00:17:58,020 --> 00:18:02,160
people

475
00:17:59,820 --> 00:18:04,260
and maybe you've heard about algorithmic

476
00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:06,299
rabbit holes maybe you saw a Four

477
00:18:04,260 --> 00:18:08,580
Corners episode on it

478
00:18:06,299 --> 00:18:10,679
so we can go down here into this this

479
00:18:08,580 --> 00:18:12,720
section of our math

480
00:18:10,679 --> 00:18:14,520
and so often in discussions about Online

481
00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:17,400
safety we really focus in on these

482
00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:19,140
rabbit holes and to be fair there are

483
00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:21,720
that there are a real problem they do

484
00:18:19,140 --> 00:18:25,200
send people down to some really really

485
00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:27,600
awful areas of the internet

486
00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:29,220
but often the logic goes basically well

487
00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:30,960
okay well I don't want this I don't want

488
00:18:29,220 --> 00:18:33,480
children to see this content and so we

489
00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:35,580
need to get rid of that content

490
00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:37,679
but this only really considers part of

491
00:18:35,580 --> 00:18:40,080
the issue what we end up doing when we

492
00:18:37,679 --> 00:18:41,760
when we focus too much on policing and

493
00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:42,780
removal of content is that we end up

494
00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:45,480
playing this kind of game of

495
00:18:42,780 --> 00:18:46,980
whack-a-mole and it often overlooks a

496
00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:49,020
lot of the complexities that come with

497
00:18:46,980 --> 00:18:51,720
content moderation and especially

498
00:18:49,020 --> 00:18:53,760
automated content moderation

499
00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:56,280
and it can also Overlook some of the

500
00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:58,080
harms that can arise when it goes wrong

501
00:18:56,280 --> 00:19:00,539
for example by disproportionately

502
00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:03,000
removing imagery of people in larger

503
00:19:00,539 --> 00:19:05,820
bodies or gender diverse people

504
00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:07,200
or by taking down documentation of Human

505
00:19:05,820 --> 00:19:08,940
Rights abuses

506
00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:10,860
and of course on the other end when

507
00:19:08,940 --> 00:19:13,320
content doesn't get taken down that also

508
00:19:10,860 --> 00:19:15,240
causes harm so it's a really sort of

509
00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:16,919
you're walking on a knife's edge it's

510
00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:19,080
really hard to get right but that

511
00:19:16,919 --> 00:19:20,280
doesn't stop politicians from you know

512
00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:22,860
spouting things like well why can't we

513
00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:23,820
just use AI to get rid of all of the bad

514
00:19:22,860 --> 00:19:25,440
stuff

515
00:19:23,820 --> 00:19:27,720
and it's because it doesn't work that

516
00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:29,100
way humans are complex and context is

517
00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:31,919
really important

518
00:19:29,100 --> 00:19:34,320
so we also need to go up in the other

519
00:19:31,919 --> 00:19:37,200
direction and consider the engagement

520
00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:38,580
and recommendation algorithms and when

521
00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:40,440
we start thinking about that we start

522
00:19:38,580 --> 00:19:42,000
thinking about the attention economy

523
00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:44,100
which is predicated on targeted

524
00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:46,380
advertising which takes us right back to

525
00:19:44,100 --> 00:19:47,700
surveillance capitalism

526
00:19:46,380 --> 00:19:49,500
now that's certainly an

527
00:19:47,700 --> 00:19:51,780
oversimplification of all of the issues

528
00:19:49,500 --> 00:19:53,580
happening here but what I think is

529
00:19:51,780 --> 00:19:55,679
important to note is that if we spend

530
00:19:53,580 --> 00:19:57,780
too much time thinking just about the

531
00:19:55,679 --> 00:20:00,900
sort of symptoms and dealing with it on

532
00:19:57,780 --> 00:20:02,520
that level we miss out on dealing with

533
00:20:00,900 --> 00:20:05,400
the underlying causes the business

534
00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:06,960
models the incentives and so we just end

535
00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:09,780
up sort of you know having the same

536
00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:11,220
issues over and over again

537
00:20:09,780 --> 00:20:14,100
so the point of showing you this mind

538
00:20:11,220 --> 00:20:15,600
map wasn't to like lead you to apathy or

539
00:20:14,100 --> 00:20:18,179
despair be like oh my God this is just

540
00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:19,440
so much stuff happening possibly rather

541
00:20:18,179 --> 00:20:21,660
I'm hoping that what you can take away

542
00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:23,100
from this is two things firstly that all

543
00:20:21,660 --> 00:20:25,679
of these issues are kind of start to

544
00:20:23,100 --> 00:20:27,419
become connected and not always in ways

545
00:20:25,679 --> 00:20:29,700
that are immediately obvious including

546
00:20:27,419 --> 00:20:32,160
connected with other social causes or

547
00:20:29,700 --> 00:20:35,340
issues and the second thing is that

548
00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:37,200
there's no need to tackle all of this at

549
00:20:35,340 --> 00:20:39,120
once so if you're interested in a

550
00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:41,700
particular social cause or a particular

551
00:20:39,120 --> 00:20:43,620
issue or a particular technology then

552
00:20:41,700 --> 00:20:45,720
you can kind of pick that spot and focus

553
00:20:43,620 --> 00:20:48,679
on that and it will play a role in the

554
00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:51,419
larger digital rights ecosystem

555
00:20:48,679 --> 00:20:53,460
okay so now we come to the digital

556
00:20:51,419 --> 00:20:55,559
wrongs section of this talk where I tell

557
00:20:53,460 --> 00:20:57,840
you about just a handful of tech policy

558
00:20:55,559 --> 00:21:00,600
uh legis and legislation in Australia

559
00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:01,980
that weren't not great

560
00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:04,320
so there's heaps of things we could talk

561
00:21:01,980 --> 00:21:05,640
about uh in this but I picked out three

562
00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:07,140
key areas that I think are really

563
00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:09,240
important to understand the sort of

564
00:21:07,140 --> 00:21:10,980
context and a bit of History so you know

565
00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:14,220
where we're at now where we've come from

566
00:21:10,980 --> 00:21:17,340
and where we're going next

567
00:21:14,220 --> 00:21:20,720
so first things first privacy reform

568
00:21:17,340 --> 00:21:23,700
my true love and arch nemesis

569
00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:25,620
so protecting privacy as I said is about

570
00:21:23,700 --> 00:21:28,260
so much more than just keeping our

571
00:21:25,620 --> 00:21:30,179
information secret or to ourselves it's

572
00:21:28,260 --> 00:21:32,100
about addressing individual and

573
00:21:30,179 --> 00:21:34,020
Collective power imbalances and

574
00:21:32,100 --> 00:21:36,360
information asymmetries it's about

575
00:21:34,020 --> 00:21:39,120
reining in corporate dominance and it's

576
00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:40,679
about upholding democracy and safety

577
00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:42,179
so in Australia the main bit of

578
00:21:40,679 --> 00:21:44,039
legislation that governs how our

579
00:21:42,179 --> 00:21:46,200
personal information is collected used

580
00:21:44,039 --> 00:21:49,500
and shared is the Privacy Act

581
00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:52,440
so this was drafted in 1988 based on a

582
00:21:49,500 --> 00:21:55,020
set of oecd principles and aside from a

583
00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:56,880
few amendments here and there it hasn't

584
00:21:55,020 --> 00:21:57,900
really been significantly changed since

585
00:21:56,880 --> 00:21:59,480
then

586
00:21:57,900 --> 00:22:01,860
the ACT is designed to be

587
00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:04,860
principles-based and Technology neutral

588
00:22:01,860 --> 00:22:06,780
but even then a lot has changed since

589
00:22:04,860 --> 00:22:09,299
the 80s and so it's just woefully

590
00:22:06,780 --> 00:22:12,000
ill-equipped to deal with the modern

591
00:22:09,299 --> 00:22:13,620
challenges of the digital economy

592
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:15,240
so Advocates and experts have been

593
00:22:13,620 --> 00:22:17,400
calling for reform to the Privacy Act

594
00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:20,159
for a very long time and here you can

595
00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:22,260
see a very simplified timeline of of the

596
00:22:20,159 --> 00:22:23,460
process of privacy reform and you can

597
00:22:22,260 --> 00:22:26,760
see that there's just been so many

598
00:22:23,460 --> 00:22:30,179
rounds of consultation and yet no real

599
00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:31,919
change yet no real improvements to to um

600
00:22:30,179 --> 00:22:34,740
that we need to better protect people

601
00:22:31,919 --> 00:22:36,539
and their personal information

602
00:22:34,740 --> 00:22:38,039
key things that we're fighting for just

603
00:22:36,539 --> 00:22:39,299
so you have a sense of what's on the

604
00:22:38,039 --> 00:22:40,980
table is

605
00:22:39,299 --> 00:22:42,900
these things so updating the definition

606
00:22:40,980 --> 00:22:45,360
of personal information and this might

607
00:22:42,900 --> 00:22:47,460
not sound super sexy but it actually has

608
00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:48,780
the potential to be really powerful and

609
00:22:47,460 --> 00:22:50,760
that's because the definition of

610
00:22:48,780 --> 00:22:52,500
personal information kind of acts as a

611
00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:55,500
gatekeeper to the Protections in the act

612
00:22:52,500 --> 00:22:57,780
so if we expand the definition we expand

613
00:22:55,500 --> 00:22:59,159
the protections so we needed to better

614
00:22:57,780 --> 00:23:01,500
include things like technical

615
00:22:59,159 --> 00:23:03,659
information like metadata as well as

616
00:23:01,500 --> 00:23:05,820
inferred or generated information which

617
00:23:03,659 --> 00:23:08,460
is becoming you know increasingly more

618
00:23:05,820 --> 00:23:11,400
of an issue we also need it to include

619
00:23:08,460 --> 00:23:13,320
instances where you can distinguish a

620
00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:15,980
person from a group without necessarily

621
00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:18,360
knowing their name but you can

622
00:23:15,980 --> 00:23:20,340
point them out in the crowd and that's

623
00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:22,320
because privacy harms can happen even if

624
00:23:20,340 --> 00:23:23,700
you don't necessarily know the person's

625
00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:25,740
name

626
00:23:23,700 --> 00:23:27,299
there's also currently political party

627
00:23:25,740 --> 00:23:29,580
and small business exemptions in the

628
00:23:27,299 --> 00:23:31,200
Privacy Act which create a huge gap in

629
00:23:29,580 --> 00:23:34,320
the protections it offers

630
00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:36,419
we also need to create a direct right of

631
00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:38,280
action or a statutory taught for serious

632
00:23:36,419 --> 00:23:40,140
invasions of privacy and that would

633
00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:42,059
enable people to take their right to

634
00:23:40,140 --> 00:23:44,760
privacy in their own hands and take

635
00:23:42,059 --> 00:23:46,380
action when it gets violated or if it

636
00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:49,200
gets violated

637
00:23:46,380 --> 00:23:51,240
and lastly a fair and reasonable test to

638
00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:53,940
put the onus of responsibility onto

639
00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:55,500
organizations you know organizations

640
00:23:53,940 --> 00:23:58,080
that collect and handle our personal

641
00:23:55,500 --> 00:23:59,520
information should be bearing the brunt

642
00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:01,320
of making sure that they're doing so

643
00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:03,480
fairly and responsibly

644
00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:05,100
currently we operate under more of a

645
00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:07,620
model that places the responsibility

646
00:24:05,100 --> 00:24:09,840
onto individuals to manage our own

647
00:24:07,620 --> 00:24:11,940
privacy through things like privacy

648
00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:14,460
policies and really long terms of

649
00:24:11,940 --> 00:24:16,320
service and clicking I agree and

650
00:24:14,460 --> 00:24:18,179
clicking I accept and collection notices

651
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:20,280
and all of that all that stuff that you

652
00:24:18,179 --> 00:24:21,360
know we hate to read and barely ever do

653
00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:23,880
and it doesn't work and it's

654
00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:28,460
manipulative and so we need to shift the

655
00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:28,460
responsibility back onto organizations

656
00:24:28,620 --> 00:24:33,600
so the next issue is surveillance Powers

657
00:24:31,380 --> 00:24:35,159
so over the past decade we've seen huge

658
00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:36,840
increases in electronic surveillance

659
00:24:35,159 --> 00:24:39,480
powers in Australia which have really

660
00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:41,580
wide reaching impacts on privacy and

661
00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:44,700
digital security and the functioning of

662
00:24:41,580 --> 00:24:46,320
our democracy uh more broadly again I've

663
00:24:44,700 --> 00:24:48,659
put together a little timeline here to

664
00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:50,100
visualize what's been going on and

665
00:24:48,659 --> 00:24:52,080
generally speaking these powers are

666
00:24:50,100 --> 00:24:54,780
Justified as necessary for national

667
00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:57,659
security purposes they use quite scary

668
00:24:54,780 --> 00:25:00,000
rhetoric about terrorism and CR and

669
00:24:57,659 --> 00:25:02,220
crimes as I mentioned before

670
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:04,260
and in Australia we have this pretty

671
00:25:02,220 --> 00:25:07,200
well established tradition that once for

672
00:25:04,260 --> 00:25:09,900
repressive powers are introduced they

673
00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:12,360
are really rarely wound back for example

674
00:25:09,900 --> 00:25:15,480
just following uh the September 11

675
00:25:12,360 --> 00:25:18,480
attacks Australia passed just shy of 100

676
00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:21,120
National Security laws which had many

677
00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:22,380
had uh unprecedented rights infringing

678
00:25:21,120 --> 00:25:25,500
powers

679
00:25:22,380 --> 00:25:26,880
and over 20 years later only one of

680
00:25:25,500 --> 00:25:28,260
those significant Powers has been

681
00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:30,960
repealed

682
00:25:28,260 --> 00:25:32,460
and since then three major pieces of

683
00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:34,559
legislation have been passed which are

684
00:25:32,460 --> 00:25:36,299
highly controversial and detrimental to

685
00:25:34,559 --> 00:25:37,980
digital rights in Australia

686
00:25:36,299 --> 00:25:41,100
the first is the metadata retention

687
00:25:37,980 --> 00:25:44,279
scheme which you may remember it was

688
00:25:41,100 --> 00:25:46,380
established in 2015 and basically set it

689
00:25:44,279 --> 00:25:48,419
up so that Telco providers have to

690
00:25:46,380 --> 00:25:50,159
retain certain forms of data for two

691
00:25:48,419 --> 00:25:51,779
years metadata

692
00:25:50,159 --> 00:25:53,820
again this was passed on to Grand

693
00:25:51,779 --> 00:25:56,940
assurances that would only be used for

694
00:25:53,820 --> 00:26:00,179
the most terrifying criminals

695
00:25:56,940 --> 00:26:03,240
fast forward to 2016 and over 60

696
00:26:00,179 --> 00:26:05,340
agencies applied to access metadata

697
00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:07,200
including local councils to follow up on

698
00:26:05,340 --> 00:26:09,900
fines

699
00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:12,720
jump ahead again to 2021 and the

700
00:26:09,900 --> 00:26:16,080
Ombudsman found that every single agency

701
00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:18,299
that they investigated every one of them

702
00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:21,299
had accessed Australians metadata

703
00:26:18,299 --> 00:26:24,000
without proper authorization

704
00:26:21,299 --> 00:26:25,620
and jump ahead to this year and it was

705
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:27,659
reported that metadata was used to check

706
00:26:25,620 --> 00:26:30,840
up on the relationship status of people

707
00:26:27,659 --> 00:26:33,299
receiving welfare an incredibly punitive

708
00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:34,919
use of these powers and not exactly the

709
00:26:33,299 --> 00:26:37,580
terrifying criminals that we were sold

710
00:26:34,919 --> 00:26:37,580
this law on

711
00:26:37,679 --> 00:26:43,260
then in 2018 we had the assistance and

712
00:26:40,260 --> 00:26:44,760
access act or Tola or the anti-scription

713
00:26:43,260 --> 00:26:47,520
ACT

714
00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:49,500
um because you might remember uh old

715
00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:51,659
mate turnable so this was super

716
00:26:49,500 --> 00:26:54,600
controversial and the debate was really

717
00:26:51,659 --> 00:26:57,299
ferocious and it really had Echoes of

718
00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:59,880
the crypto Wars in it and basically what

719
00:26:57,299 --> 00:27:02,279
it did is enable law enforcement and

720
00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:04,860
intelligence agencies to compel tech

721
00:27:02,279 --> 00:27:06,360
companies to assist them to be able to

722
00:27:04,860 --> 00:27:07,620
access the content of encrypted

723
00:27:06,360 --> 00:27:09,240
Communications

724
00:27:07,620 --> 00:27:11,340
it was rushed through the Christmas

725
00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:12,960
period and labor said that they had

726
00:27:11,340 --> 00:27:15,419
concerns about it

727
00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:19,980
but they passed it anyway

728
00:27:15,419 --> 00:27:22,200
so in 2020 a an independent monitor

729
00:27:19,980 --> 00:27:25,320
reviewed the act and and suggested major

730
00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:27,299
overhaul which still hasn't happened

731
00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:29,460
today politicians and others are still

732
00:27:27,299 --> 00:27:32,159
using the same rhetorical tools to try

733
00:27:29,460 --> 00:27:33,900
to argue against encryption although the

734
00:27:32,159 --> 00:27:36,360
emphasis has shifted away from terrorism

735
00:27:33,900 --> 00:27:39,779
now and towards people who disseminate

736
00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:41,400
child sexual abuse material or csam but

737
00:27:39,779 --> 00:27:44,640
what these politicians and other people

738
00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:46,740
in power fail to realize or fail to

739
00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:49,020
address is that strong encryption

740
00:27:46,740 --> 00:27:51,840
encryption helps keeps all of us safe

741
00:27:49,020 --> 00:27:53,880
including children and weakening it in

742
00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:57,299
any way actually undermines that safety

743
00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:59,880
for all of us in the long term

744
00:27:57,299 --> 00:28:03,120
and then the last one identify and

745
00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:04,980
disrupt act so this passed in 2021 and

746
00:28:03,120 --> 00:28:06,659
it introduced a range of new powers that

747
00:28:04,980 --> 00:28:09,960
enable law enforcement intelligence

748
00:28:06,659 --> 00:28:12,840
agencies to add copy delete and alter

749
00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:15,600
data on devices take over accounts and

750
00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:17,820
lock people out and and to access entire

751
00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:19,020
networks with minimal oversight or

752
00:28:17,820 --> 00:28:21,179
accountability

753
00:28:19,020 --> 00:28:23,220
now before it passed the Parliamentary

754
00:28:21,179 --> 00:28:25,559
joint committee on intelligence and

755
00:28:23,220 --> 00:28:27,900
security noted that there were serious

756
00:28:25,559 --> 00:28:30,120
flaws in the bill and recommended

757
00:28:27,900 --> 00:28:32,279
significant changes including narrowing

758
00:28:30,120 --> 00:28:34,320
the powers and establishing oversight

759
00:28:32,279 --> 00:28:36,419
mechanisms

760
00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:40,580
but did they listen to that no they

761
00:28:36,419 --> 00:28:40,580
passed it just under a week later

762
00:28:40,860 --> 00:28:44,580
so important thing to remember with all

763
00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:46,799
of this is that private and public

764
00:28:44,580 --> 00:28:48,600
surveillance is functionally intertwined

765
00:28:46,799 --> 00:28:51,000
and what I mean by that is that

766
00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:53,880
government use of surveillance relies

767
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:56,820
upon commercial data collection at the

768
00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:59,700
data market and private tech companies

769
00:28:56,820 --> 00:29:02,360
you know be it through Telco providers a

770
00:28:59,700 --> 00:29:06,240
commercial facial recognition Services

771
00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:09,020
databases digital platforms Etc it's all

772
00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:09,020
really connected

773
00:29:09,059 --> 00:29:13,440
onto Online safety so around the end of

774
00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:15,240
2020 the Australian government started

775
00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:17,159
to really get a taste for taking on big

776
00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:18,779
Tech you might remember at the time

777
00:29:17,159 --> 00:29:22,140
there was a lot of stories about Scott

778
00:29:18,779 --> 00:29:24,000
Morrison cracking down on social media

779
00:29:22,140 --> 00:29:25,919
and alongside this there was a lot of

780
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:28,200
talk about protecting women and children

781
00:29:25,919 --> 00:29:30,080
as well and so we ended up with the

782
00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:32,640
Online safety act

783
00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:34,860
now this was surrounded with a huge

784
00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:36,779
amount of debate and controversy

785
00:29:34,860 --> 00:29:38,880
so the bill is complex we don't need to

786
00:29:36,779 --> 00:29:40,140
get into the weeds of it here but there

787
00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:42,840
are some things in it that are really

788
00:29:40,140 --> 00:29:46,080
valuable and reasonable but there are

789
00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:47,820
also a range of really broad vaguely

790
00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:50,399
defined powers given to the regulator

791
00:29:47,820 --> 00:29:53,580
the e-safety commissioner to be able to

792
00:29:50,399 --> 00:29:55,860
require the removal of certain content

793
00:29:53,580 --> 00:29:58,080
so this applies to things to Illegal

794
00:29:55,860 --> 00:30:00,720
content like csam or proterra material

795
00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:02,520
material but it also extends to other

796
00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:03,659
categories of content like sexual

797
00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:05,039
material

798
00:30:03,659 --> 00:30:07,200
and this is where it starts getting

799
00:30:05,039 --> 00:30:10,020
really tricky and starts getting wrapped

800
00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:11,760
up in sort of conservative ideology and

801
00:30:10,020 --> 00:30:13,919
has real implications for the freedom of

802
00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:15,659
speech and freedom of expression for

803
00:30:13,919 --> 00:30:17,820
many groups

804
00:30:15,659 --> 00:30:20,340
what's more is that in able to be able

805
00:30:17,820 --> 00:30:22,799
to put these things into action a lot of

806
00:30:20,340 --> 00:30:25,440
it incentivizes or requires increased

807
00:30:22,799 --> 00:30:27,480
policing monitoring and data collection

808
00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:28,980
online which usually means increased

809
00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:30,480
surveillance

810
00:30:28,980 --> 00:30:32,220
so in addition to digital rights

811
00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:34,620
Advocates there was serious pushback

812
00:30:32,220 --> 00:30:36,539
from sex worker groups and the lgbtq

813
00:30:34,620 --> 00:30:38,399
community because these groups are

814
00:30:36,539 --> 00:30:40,440
already subject to disproportionate

815
00:30:38,399 --> 00:30:43,980
censorship and surveillance online and

816
00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:46,020
the ACT stood to increase that

817
00:30:43,980 --> 00:30:47,520
fast forward and there's a whole range

818
00:30:46,020 --> 00:30:49,320
of things happening in the Online safety

819
00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:51,299
space at the moment so we've got you

820
00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:53,039
know proposals for age verification that

821
00:30:51,299 --> 00:30:55,500
come with huge privacy and digital

822
00:30:53,039 --> 00:30:57,480
security risks also a kind of

823
00:30:55,500 --> 00:30:58,980
implementation nightmare

824
00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:01,559
we've also got proposals to reduce

825
00:30:58,980 --> 00:31:03,960
anonymity online and this as I said

826
00:31:01,559 --> 00:31:06,179
earlier risks the safety of a lot of

827
00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:08,940
people who rely on anonymity to be able

828
00:31:06,179 --> 00:31:11,460
to be online in a safe way

829
00:31:08,940 --> 00:31:13,080
we also have these increasingly complex

830
00:31:11,460 --> 00:31:14,880
requirements for tech companies

831
00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:16,860
including the basic Online safety

832
00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:19,440
expectations as well as the Online

833
00:31:16,860 --> 00:31:21,600
safety industry codes so at the moment

834
00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:22,799
we're waiting for the e-safety

835
00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:25,260
commissioner to deliver a couple of

836
00:31:22,799 --> 00:31:27,120
standards and we're expecting that those

837
00:31:25,260 --> 00:31:29,159
standards will include requirements for

838
00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:31,559
proactive detection or client-side

839
00:31:29,159 --> 00:31:34,740
scanning which is a really controversial

840
00:31:31,559 --> 00:31:38,820
and quite a dangerous use of technology

841
00:31:34,740 --> 00:31:38,820
to sidestep encryption

842
00:31:39,419 --> 00:31:44,399
so the Online safety space is a complex

843
00:31:42,059 --> 00:31:45,899
regulatory spiders web and most of the

844
00:31:44,399 --> 00:31:48,899
time it ends up being a kind of tug of

845
00:31:45,899 --> 00:31:51,000
war between big Tech and the government

846
00:31:48,899 --> 00:31:52,679
and small tech companies or

847
00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:54,840
organizations are really starting to

848
00:31:52,679 --> 00:31:56,520
feel huge amounts of pressure to be able

849
00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:58,980
to meet the requirements that are really

850
00:31:56,520 --> 00:32:02,580
designed with big Tech in mind

851
00:31:58,980 --> 00:32:05,279
for example in 2022 sweater a sex worker

852
00:32:02,580 --> 00:32:07,860
friendly uh social media platform had to

853
00:32:05,279 --> 00:32:09,779
shut down in response to increasingly

854
00:32:07,860 --> 00:32:12,299
hostile regulation

855
00:32:09,779 --> 00:32:14,760
now things like this make many

856
00:32:12,299 --> 00:32:16,860
communities less safe but it also

857
00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:19,080
contributes to the consolidation and

858
00:32:16,860 --> 00:32:20,399
power of power and influence into a

859
00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:21,960
handful of large companies because

860
00:32:20,399 --> 00:32:24,720
they're the only ones who are able to

861
00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:26,520
meet the requirements

862
00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:28,200
now none of that is to say that tech

863
00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:31,860
companies should be off the hook when it

864
00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:32,940
comes to Online safety but it is to say

865
00:32:31,860 --> 00:32:34,740
that we need to be thinking really

866
00:32:32,940 --> 00:32:37,020
carefully about the kinds of regulations

867
00:32:34,740 --> 00:32:38,820
that we put in place and we need really

868
00:32:37,020 --> 00:32:40,740
we need a technologically competent

869
00:32:38,820 --> 00:32:42,240
government who meaningfully engages with

870
00:32:40,740 --> 00:32:45,299
the tech community and the digital

871
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:47,520
rights Civil Society space and other

872
00:32:45,299 --> 00:32:49,440
impacted communities

873
00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:51,960
it is really concerning when the vision

874
00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:54,080
for Online safety in Australia is one of

875
00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:57,240
increased automated content moderation

876
00:32:54,080 --> 00:32:59,279
privacy invasive age verification a

877
00:32:57,240 --> 00:33:01,679
reduction in anonymity and a Crackdown

878
00:32:59,279 --> 00:33:03,899
on end-to-end encryption these

879
00:33:01,679 --> 00:33:06,539
approaches increase surveillance the

880
00:33:03,899 --> 00:33:08,039
increase control and monitoring and in

881
00:33:06,539 --> 00:33:12,059
doing so threatened to actually

882
00:33:08,039 --> 00:33:13,919
undermine the safety for a lot of people

883
00:33:12,059 --> 00:33:15,960
I also think it's important that we

884
00:33:13,919 --> 00:33:18,960
recognize that all of this sits within a

885
00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:21,120
broader context of anti-sax anti-queer

886
00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:23,700
and anti-trans sentiment that is both

887
00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:25,799
online and offline much of the public

888
00:33:23,700 --> 00:33:28,200
discourse from politicians and others in

889
00:33:25,799 --> 00:33:30,299
of in positions of power have emphasized

890
00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:33,840
a view of Online safety that centers

891
00:33:30,299 --> 00:33:35,399
upon moralism puritanism and sanitizing

892
00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:38,700
online space

893
00:33:35,399 --> 00:33:41,399
it becomes genuinely very scary when the

894
00:33:38,700 --> 00:33:44,220
idea of offensive content or harmful

895
00:33:41,399 --> 00:33:46,260
content is your very existence

896
00:33:44,220 --> 00:33:49,260
especially when it starts to impact the

897
00:33:46,260 --> 00:33:52,799
internet which you know many of my

898
00:33:49,260 --> 00:33:55,080
fellow lgbtq community members rely upon

899
00:33:52,799 --> 00:33:56,820
to access support friends and vital

900
00:33:55,080 --> 00:34:00,179
health information

901
00:33:56,820 --> 00:34:02,519
we must vehemently reject the notion

902
00:34:00,179 --> 00:34:04,500
that the safety of children is in

903
00:34:02,519 --> 00:34:06,419
opposition to the freedom and safety of

904
00:34:04,500 --> 00:34:08,940
queer people and sex workers because

905
00:34:06,419 --> 00:34:11,280
it's not true and it's a dichotomy that

906
00:34:08,940 --> 00:34:15,560
is designed to divide us and lead us to

907
00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:15,560
punitive and harmful internet regulation

908
00:34:15,740 --> 00:34:21,179
thank you

909
00:34:18,359 --> 00:34:22,440
so I picked out the the three key areas

910
00:34:21,179 --> 00:34:24,540
that I think are really important to

911
00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:26,460
focus on but I also wanted to just flag

912
00:34:24,540 --> 00:34:28,679
a few things that are coming up now that

913
00:34:26,460 --> 00:34:30,839
you've got all of all the context you

914
00:34:28,679 --> 00:34:32,280
know what to keep your eye out for um as

915
00:34:30,839 --> 00:34:33,960
we move forward so at the moment we've

916
00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:35,700
got misinformation and disinformation

917
00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:38,820
legislation on the cards which is

918
00:34:35,700 --> 00:34:41,220
creating some controversy around when it

919
00:34:38,820 --> 00:34:42,960
is and isn't misinformation and what to

920
00:34:41,220 --> 00:34:44,040
take down and what not because it's very

921
00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:46,800
complex

922
00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:49,800
we've got digital identity on the cards

923
00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:52,560
which includes use of biometric data and

924
00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:55,440
we've also there's been a lot of talk

925
00:34:52,560 --> 00:34:57,720
about AI governance recently so they we

926
00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:59,400
just currently there's a inquiry

927
00:34:57,720 --> 00:35:01,440
happening at the moment about different

928
00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:03,599
mechanisms for regulation and and

929
00:35:01,440 --> 00:35:05,520
governments of AI so you can expect to

930
00:35:03,599 --> 00:35:07,760
see a lot more of that in the near

931
00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:07,760
future

932
00:35:08,099 --> 00:35:12,599
okay so my hope is that this talk has

933
00:35:10,859 --> 00:35:14,640
helped bring you up to speed on some of

934
00:35:12,599 --> 00:35:16,380
the current digital rights issues and

935
00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:18,599
the state of tech policy in Australia

936
00:35:16,380 --> 00:35:20,700
and even better I really hope that at

937
00:35:18,599 --> 00:35:22,920
least one thing has resonated with you

938
00:35:20,700 --> 00:35:25,400
and maybe moved you to get involved with

939
00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:27,720
the digital rights movement in Australia

940
00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:29,700
technologists and Tech workers like

941
00:35:27,720 --> 00:35:31,440
yourself are in such a wonderful

942
00:35:29,700 --> 00:35:33,960
position to get involved with this

943
00:35:31,440 --> 00:35:36,300
movement as people who understand and

944
00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:38,940
actively work in Tech you have a lot of

945
00:35:36,300 --> 00:35:41,400
power to help others understand and to

946
00:35:38,940 --> 00:35:43,560
influence the direction of Technology

947
00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:45,660
so here's a little list of things you

948
00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:47,280
can do if you want to get involved not

949
00:35:45,660 --> 00:35:50,040
all of these will apply some will work

950
00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:52,760
some will some won't so take what fits

951
00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:52,760
and ignore what doesn't

952
00:35:53,579 --> 00:35:59,339
so firstly educating and helping to

953
00:35:55,859 --> 00:36:01,140
demystify technology so

954
00:35:59,339 --> 00:36:04,320
as I said you're in a great position to

955
00:36:01,140 --> 00:36:05,760
be able to do this there's a lot of

956
00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:07,619
misunderstanding of a lot of

957
00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:11,640
Technologies and how they work and how

958
00:36:07,619 --> 00:36:13,380
they impact people for example I'm sure

959
00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:16,320
I'm sure a lot of you have seen

960
00:36:13,380 --> 00:36:18,119
firsthand a lot of the misinformation a

961
00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:20,220
lot of the misunderstanding around how

962
00:36:18,119 --> 00:36:22,740
large language models work and what they

963
00:36:20,220 --> 00:36:24,060
are and are not capable of and this kind

964
00:36:22,740 --> 00:36:27,359
of confusion leads people to

965
00:36:24,060 --> 00:36:30,420
misunderstand what AI can and can't do

966
00:36:27,359 --> 00:36:32,420
and that can end up having real impacts

967
00:36:30,420 --> 00:36:35,160
on the decisions and policy making

968
00:36:32,420 --> 00:36:37,260
directions so playing a role in

969
00:36:35,160 --> 00:36:39,540
demystifying how these Technologies work

970
00:36:37,260 --> 00:36:41,160
for the people around you who who don't

971
00:36:39,540 --> 00:36:43,859
necessarily have your level of

972
00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:45,720
understanding can be really helpful

973
00:36:43,859 --> 00:36:48,300
you could speak up within the industry

974
00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:50,460
so you have the potential to be a really

975
00:36:48,300 --> 00:36:52,440
influential voice within the tech

976
00:36:50,460 --> 00:36:55,079
industry in Australia so this might mean

977
00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:56,880
things like advocating internally in

978
00:36:55,079 --> 00:36:58,920
your workplace or just with your Tech

979
00:36:56,880 --> 00:37:02,460
Community for rights respecting

980
00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:06,440
practices privacy digital security the

981
00:37:02,460 --> 00:37:06,440
inclusive design and things like that

982
00:37:07,079 --> 00:37:10,859
um submission writing so not this isn't

983
00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:13,440
for everybody but if you're interested

984
00:37:10,859 --> 00:37:15,240
we could really use the help

985
00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:17,820
um so one of the main challenges that we

986
00:37:15,240 --> 00:37:19,560
find with um doing submission writing

987
00:37:17,820 --> 00:37:21,480
and engaging with the government on Tech

988
00:37:19,560 --> 00:37:24,960
legislation is it's just a phenomenal

989
00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:27,660
lack of technical understanding it seems

990
00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:30,119
in our government and often they'll put

991
00:37:27,660 --> 00:37:33,359
forward proposals that don't really make

992
00:37:30,119 --> 00:37:35,520
sense or uh sort of technically

993
00:37:33,359 --> 00:37:37,440
um inappropriate or lead to technical

994
00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:39,240
consequences that they haven't foreseen

995
00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:42,480
or really hard to implement and things

996
00:37:39,240 --> 00:37:44,160
like that so if you're inclined weighing

997
00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:46,820
in on those kinds of things is really

998
00:37:44,160 --> 00:37:46,820
really helpful

999
00:37:47,099 --> 00:37:51,780
if you're somebody who builds products

1000
00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:53,280
perhaps you could play an active role in

1001
00:37:51,780 --> 00:37:55,740
prioritizing digital rights in the

1002
00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:58,200
design development and deployment of

1003
00:37:55,740 --> 00:38:00,060
them this might mean being again a

1004
00:37:58,200 --> 00:38:01,440
champion for privacy it might mean

1005
00:38:00,060 --> 00:38:03,960
engaging with inclusive design

1006
00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:07,020
methodologies you could advocate for

1007
00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:09,119
features that Empower your users to

1008
00:38:07,020 --> 00:38:12,180
control their data and to make informed

1009
00:38:09,119 --> 00:38:14,760
choices about how they interact with it

1010
00:38:12,180 --> 00:38:17,339
if you're doing side projects you could

1011
00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:19,740
consider maybe volunteering some of your

1012
00:38:17,339 --> 00:38:21,720
technical expertise to organizations

1013
00:38:19,740 --> 00:38:23,460
that are doing good or you could

1014
00:38:21,720 --> 00:38:26,640
contribute to digital rights focused or

1015
00:38:23,460 --> 00:38:30,060
open source projects

1016
00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:32,579
this is the spicy One tech unionization

1017
00:38:30,060 --> 00:38:35,520
um some tech workers overseas have

1018
00:38:32,579 --> 00:38:37,440
started uh exploring unionization as a

1019
00:38:35,520 --> 00:38:39,720
way to collectively negotiate for better

1020
00:38:37,440 --> 00:38:42,720
working practices for themselves but

1021
00:38:39,720 --> 00:38:45,119
also as a way to negotiate for a seat at

1022
00:38:42,720 --> 00:38:47,760
the table to be to pay it to play a part

1023
00:38:45,119 --> 00:38:49,560
in the decision-making processes so they

1024
00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:51,540
want to be able to use this to not only

1025
00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:54,119
impact the company that they work for

1026
00:38:51,540 --> 00:38:55,619
but also Society at large and how they

1027
00:38:54,119 --> 00:38:57,720
sort of fit together

1028
00:38:55,619 --> 00:39:00,540
so sadly we don't have a dedicated Tech

1029
00:38:57,720 --> 00:39:02,460
Workers Union in Australia yet

1030
00:39:00,540 --> 00:39:05,160
but

1031
00:39:02,460 --> 00:39:08,220
I mean what if you started one

1032
00:39:05,160 --> 00:39:09,780
it's just food for thought or you could

1033
00:39:08,220 --> 00:39:12,300
just work with your your fellow

1034
00:39:09,780 --> 00:39:14,099
colleagues and your friends but

1035
00:39:12,300 --> 00:39:16,980
I don't know think about it

1036
00:39:14,099 --> 00:39:19,140
and lastly supporting digital rights

1037
00:39:16,980 --> 00:39:21,000
organizations as I mentioned right at

1038
00:39:19,140 --> 00:39:23,880
the beginning the digital rights

1039
00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:27,900
community and movement in Australia

1040
00:39:23,880 --> 00:39:29,520
is wildly under-resourced and as you

1041
00:39:27,900 --> 00:39:31,320
have just heard there is just a

1042
00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:34,380
phenomenal amount of work in different

1043
00:39:31,320 --> 00:39:35,700
areas coming at us from all angles all

1044
00:39:34,380 --> 00:39:37,920
the time

1045
00:39:35,700 --> 00:39:39,480
so advocacy work might not be your cup

1046
00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:41,520
of tea and that's totally fine not

1047
00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:43,859
everybody needs to do it but please

1048
00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:45,780
don't underestimate how much of a

1049
00:39:43,859 --> 00:39:48,000
difference it can make by supporting

1050
00:39:45,780 --> 00:39:50,160
people who are doing that work

1051
00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:52,380
so this could look like a few different

1052
00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:53,820
things you could

1053
00:39:52,380 --> 00:39:55,740
um make a donation you could make a

1054
00:39:53,820 --> 00:39:57,480
one-off donation which is good you could

1055
00:39:55,740 --> 00:40:00,020
make a recurring donation which is even

1056
00:39:57,480 --> 00:40:03,480
better it helps us to plan ahead

1057
00:40:00,020 --> 00:40:06,300
you could organize something in your

1058
00:40:03,480 --> 00:40:09,180
company to do your recurring support or

1059
00:40:06,300 --> 00:40:10,740
of course it you could also get in touch

1060
00:40:09,180 --> 00:40:12,480
with the organizations and see if you

1061
00:40:10,740 --> 00:40:14,820
can help out in other ways maybe it will

1062
00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:17,160
be helping with some some technical

1063
00:40:14,820 --> 00:40:19,740
projects maybe it would be writing

1064
00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:21,180
content or helping to run workshops and

1065
00:40:19,740 --> 00:40:24,240
things like that it really depends on

1066
00:40:21,180 --> 00:40:25,680
the organization obviously I hope that

1067
00:40:24,240 --> 00:40:28,140
you will support digital Rights Watch

1068
00:40:25,680 --> 00:40:30,480
but there are some other organizations

1069
00:40:28,140 --> 00:40:32,280
in Australia that are doing really great

1070
00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:34,140
work as well including electronic

1071
00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:35,880
Frontiers Australia the Australian

1072
00:40:34,140 --> 00:40:37,800
privacy foundation and they're a

1073
00:40:35,880 --> 00:40:40,560
state-based civil civil liberties

1074
00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:43,700
organizations as well which you can look

1075
00:40:40,560 --> 00:40:43,700
up if you're interested

1076
00:40:44,280 --> 00:40:50,700
okay so that brings us to the end thank

1077
00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:53,460
you so much for your attention and again

1078
00:40:50,700 --> 00:40:55,800
to pycon for having me I hope that I

1079
00:40:53,460 --> 00:40:57,540
have left you with some little Sparks of

1080
00:40:55,800 --> 00:40:59,460
ideas of things that you might be

1081
00:40:57,540 --> 00:41:01,980
interested in following up and that

1082
00:40:59,460 --> 00:41:05,099
hopefully you'll want to get involved in

1083
00:41:01,980 --> 00:41:06,620
the digital rights movement in Australia

1084
00:41:05,099 --> 00:41:08,310
um thank you again

1085
00:41:06,620 --> 00:41:15,190
[Applause]

1086
00:41:08,310 --> 00:41:15,190
[Music]

1087
00:41:17,339 --> 00:41:22,140
do I am I am I am I alive now can you

1088
00:41:19,980 --> 00:41:24,480
hear me yay lovely thank you so much Sam

1089
00:41:22,140 --> 00:41:26,820
we have uh the traditional sponsor uh

1090
00:41:24,480 --> 00:41:27,900
sponsored speaker gift of a mug and a

1091
00:41:26,820 --> 00:41:28,990
thank you card thank you thank you so

1092
00:41:27,900 --> 00:41:36,140
much thank you

1093
00:41:28,990 --> 00:41:36,140
[Applause]