The ACIC has clarified that when it said there was ‘no legitimate reason for a law-abiding member of the community to own or use an encrypted communication platform’, it actually meant an encrypted device.
The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) has taken the opportunity to revise the claims it made in a submission earlier this month around the unlawful use of encrypted communications, saying it has its sights on devices that are specifically used for illegal purposes rather than encrypted messaging apps, such as WhatsApp or Signal. In a submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) as part of its inquiry into the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2020, the commission said, «ACIC observation shows there is no legitimate reason for a law-abiding member of the community to own or use an encrypted communication platform». Also: Cops are the only ones being lawful on the dark web, AFP declares Facing Senate Estimates on Tuesday, ACIC CEO Mike Phelan was questioned on ZDNet’s article that highlighted the claims the submission made and said in response, «That’s not true». «I mean, we all need encryption,» he said. «The legislation as designed — and it is absolutely our intention to not go after over-the-top apps, so I’m not after WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, all those sorts of things. What we’re after is to get deep inside criminal networks that exist on the platforms within Australia.
