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ARTICLE · 28 JULY 2017

Encrypted electronic communications: How will Australia regulate access?

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The Australia has taken a strong stand in relation to the need for law enforcement agencies to access encrypted messages.

AustraliaMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
Angela Flannery
Angela Flannery
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The Australian Government is proposing to introduce legislation this year to impose an obligation on communications and technology companies to assist law enforcement agencies to access encrypted messages, in the event that voluntary cooperation is not provided by those companies.

Background

The Australian Government has taken a strong stand in relation to the need for law enforcement agencies to access encrypted messages, sent over systems such as WhatsApp, Viber and Telegram. This has been evidenced by the positions taken by the Government on the international stage, including the recent Five Eyes and G20 meetings.

Five Eyes: A voluntary solution?

At the 26 June 2017 Five-Eyes intelligence talks in Ottawa a hot topic was how to seek cooperation from internet service providers (ISPs) and device makers to access encrypted messages sent using the systems of those ISPs. The governments of all of the Five-Eyes members (the United States, the United Kingdom,

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