Data Retention's Slippery Slope: Now Australian Police Want Warrantless Access To Bank Accounts
from the and-then-what? dept
As Techdirt has reported, data retention laws are being introduced around the world. One of the less obvious but most pernicious effects of this development is the banalization of surveillance it brings with it. People begin to find it normal that they are spied on by their government whatever they are doing, and accept without a murmur that the police can do so without a warrant. A good example of what this can lead to has surfaced in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), where the police are pushing for new powers:
The NSW Police Force would no longer require a judge's sign-off to gain access to the bank statements of people they suspect are engaging in criminal conduct under a police proposal before the NSW government.
What's significant is that in the article quoted above, which appears in The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia's new data retention laws are explicitly cited as a justification for the move:
The proposal would change the status quo, which requires a magistrate or registrar of a court to sign off on a "notice to produce" before police can force banking institutions to hand over documentation, such as a suspected criminal's bank statements.[The head of NSW Police's Fraud and Cyber Crime Squad] likened the proposal to the way telecommunications metadata -- such as the time a call was made, to whom, and for how long -- is sought from telcos, which requires only the sign-off a senior officer before companies, such as Telstra or Optus, divulge such information.
Although the request from the police has not been granted -- so far, at least -- it's a sign of where things are going. It's also a great demonstration of the slippery slope: once you agree that warrantless access to personal data is acceptable in one sphere, it's much harder to argue against it in other situations.
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Filed Under: australia, banks, data retention, law enforcement, police
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Just say no.
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fascists
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Colin Barnett is a cunt
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"Warrants are hard!" -- Barbie police officer.
What wierd seance type !@#$ are these judges forcing well meaning cops to go through in order to get their warrants signed? I can see no other reason (other than the obvious "laziness" explanation) why cops around the world have come to this conclusion independently.
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Re:
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How about this instead:
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Re: "Warrants are hard!" -- Barbie police officer.
"Accountability"
"Paper trail"
Police and government agencies really don't like the idea that they'd actually have to justify or defend their action to anyone else, ever, or that people would be able to know what they were doing or asking for.
No warrant also means that there's no limits, meaning they can do whatever they want, and search wherever they want, and anything they find is fair game.
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Much as they both bluster when in opposition, once in power, all political parties will do what they want irrespective of the needs of the country.
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Re: Re: "Warrants are hard!" -- Barbie police officer.
On an unrelated note we now have money for more toys for ourselves
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Re: Re: Re: "Warrants are hard!" -- Barbie police officer.
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No expectation of privacy...
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The long "reach" of the Law
Give a crook an inch and he'll try and get your bank account number.
...or, more up to date,
Give a crook a badge and he will steal everything you own, legally.
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Re: Colin Barnett is a cunt
NSW is so full of RWNJ cunts they even have the Gile to export them to the Northern Territory.
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