Digital Rights Watch (DRW)
Digital Rights Watch (DRW) is an Australian charity, founded in 2016 at a meeting of representatives from Australian digital and human rights organisations, activists, political advisers, technology consultants and academics — called largely in response to the introduction of Australia's mandatory telecommunications data retention scheme. It describes its mission as ensuring "Australians are equipped, empowered and enabled to uphold their digital rights."1
DRW's work centres on transparency, accountability and oversight over how governments and corporations collect and use personal data — privacy and surveillance policy, encryption law, and, more recently, oversight of AI systems deployed in government and healthcare settings. It works in partnership with other Australian and international digital-rights groups, including Electronic Frontiers Australia, Amnesty International Australia, Access Now, and Privacy International.
Key work areas
- Surveillance and data retention — opposition to Australia's mandatory metadata retention scheme, the catalyst for the org's founding
- Encryption policy — led the "Alliance for a Safe and Secure Internet" coalition against the Assistance and Access Bill 2018, and made a formal submission opposing it
- State of Digital Rights report — an annual assessment of Australia's digital rights landscape, first published in 2018
- AI oversight — an "AI Harms Register" collecting reports of AI-related harms across government, business, healthcare and employment, and a current campaign on AI use in healthcare settings
Links
- Website: digitalrightswatch.org.au
See also
History
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2016-03-11
Founded in Melbourne, largely in response to Australia's mandatory telecommunications data retention scheme
Sourcing: High
In 2016, largely in response to the introduction of Australia's mandatory telecommunications data retention scheme, Digital Rights Watch was created at a meeting of representatives from Australian digital and human rights organisations, activists, political advisers, technology consultants and academics.
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2018-05-14
Published the inaugural "State of Digital Rights" report assessing Australia's digital rights landscape
Sourcing: High
Today, we’re proud to release the State of Digital Rights report, which outlines the many ways Australians’ rights are being impacted by the activities of private companies and governments in the online world.
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2018-10-02–2018-12-06
Co-founded the "Alliance for a Safe and Secure Internet" coalition opposing the Assistance and Access encryption bill
Sourcing: High
Consumers, human rights groups, industry, telcos and technology companies join forces to sound alarm at Government’s spyware legislation
End date is the Assistance and Access Bill's passage through federal parliament on 6 December 2018 — the coalition's stated goal was to prevent this, not achieved.
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2018-10-10
Lodged a formal submission opposing the Assistance and Access Bill 2018 (the encryption "backdoor" legislation)
Sourcing: Medium
Submission to the Department of Home Affairs' public consultation on the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018, published on the Department's own site.
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