Queensland Government Wants Access to Your Phone
Story by Paul MacKenzie
IN A BLATANT violation of Queenslanders’ rights, the Queensland Government wants the power to force citizens to unlock their devices during a declared terrorist emergency.
The state government introduced legislation under the title “Counter-Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016” earlier this month.
The bill’s explanatory note (PDF) complains that currently, Police can’t demand “relevant information” from people who aren’t suspects in a terrorist incident, but are thought to know something that might help an investigation.
The bill also seeks to silence citizens who’ve had their phone searched. Currently, “there is no requirement for a person to keep confidential the fact that information is being sought”.
Part of the justification is that people might have taken photos or videos of a terrorist incident, which they then post to social media, and these might help identify an attacker.
Read the full story here from our source article.