One common practice when it comes to surveillance is to prohibit ISP:s, telecoms operators and tech companies to disclose that there is or has been any warrants or other demands for information from the authorities. (In the US this is known as national security letters.)
Some companies have worked their way around this by so called warrant canaries. In short this means that they state in e.g. their transparency or annual report that there has been no secret warrants. If they, the next year, leave that information out — they have communicated that there has been one or several secret warrants. But in an indirect, subtle way — without breaching the actual secret warrant in question.
This practice is now going to be illegal in Australia, when it comes to the government spying on journalists. BoingBoing explains…
Section 182A of the new law says that a person commits an offense if he or she discloses or uses information about “the existence or non-existence of such a [journalist information] warrant.” The penalty upon conviction is two years imprisonment.
This making it illegal… to or not to indicate to the public that… you are or are or are not not… telling the truth. Or a lie.
Orwell would have been amazed.
Or, in plain words: The Australian government does not appreciate the truth.
/ HAX
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