News Story: Aussie PM to lobby U.S. to take action against tech-savvy terrorists at G20 summit

CANBERRA, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will use this weekend's G20 summit to lobby U.S. President Donald Trump to act against terrorists who use encrypted messaging platforms to share information.

Describing the increasing use of encrypted messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram by terrorists as a "massive issue," Turnbull said he would be asking world leaders, specifically Trump, to ensure messaging companies follow through on the "responsibility to public safety" by handing over critical information containing terrorist chatter.

"It is (an issue) that will be the subject of some very frank discussions," Turnbull told Fairfax Media on Wednesday.

"We are in a position now where increasingly police and security agencies can intercept telecommunications, but they cannot read them.

"We need to have much greater co-operation because the terrorist threat is absolutely global."

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Australia flags crackdown on encrypted communication ahead of "Five Eyes" meeting

CANBERRA, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Attorney-General George Brandis said Australia would be pushing its "Five Eyes" intelligence partners this month to crack down on encrypted technology in the global fight against terrorism.

Brandis said Australia would list the issue as a top agenda item at a meeting of the "Five Eyes" alliance, which comprises Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand, in Canada at the end of June.

Speaking to the Australian media on Tuesday night, Brandis said encrypted Internet communication was the biggest challenge facing law enforcement and security agencies around the world.

Brandis called upon telecommunications companies, social media outlets and Internet giants to cooperate with authorities on terrorism investigations, saying they had a "corporate social responsibility" to help combat terrorist activity.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: Global Internet Continues to Become Less Free

Doug Bernard

WASHINGTON — For the sixth year in a row, the global internet became less free as governments around the world re-doubled efforts to limit free expression, ban encryption technologies, and punish users for posting or sharing material deemed unacceptable by national authorities.

Those are just a few of the findings of the annual "Freedom on the Net" report published by Freedom House, a pro-democracy think tank in Washington D.C.

Freedom House researchers now estimate that just over two-thirds of all internet users in the world live in nations that actively restrict online activity and where users face harsh penalties for their posts, including prison and whippings.

The survey of 65 nations determined that China, Iran, Syria and Ethiopia were the greatest abusers of internet freedoms, followed by Uzbekistan, Cuba, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia. Some nations, including North Korea which has a long record of flagrant human rights abuses, were not included.

Among the nations that saw the biggest declines were Uganda, Bangladesh and Cambodia. Only 14 nations saw marginal improvements. Just three nations - China, India, and the U.S. - account for roughly 40 percent of all the world's online users.