Civil liberties expert slams email spying plans

The head of the Australian Council of Civil Liberties, Terry O'Gorman, says tighter laws to protect Australia against cyber terrorism threats are not needed.

"The Federal Government is considering new national security laws which would allow employers to check their workers' computer use -- such as emails -- without the employee's consent.

"Mr O'Gorman says the existing legal framework provides enough protection against terrorism.

"'We have passed so many laws in the name of fighting terrorism that we're at ... serious risk of losing the balance between giving the intelligence services sufficient powers to fight terrorism while at the same time keeping longstanding and cherished civil liberties,' he said ..."

Categories: civil-liberties, civil-rights, australia, authoritarianism, terrorism, war-on-terror, liberty, surveillance