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<body><div>I will be there and able to talk about FastMail's submission if it comes up. </div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>On Wed, 18 Jan 2017, at 04:58 PM, Bron Gondwana via Chat wrote:<br></div>
<blockquote type="cite"><div>On Wed, 18 Jan 2017, at 15:47, Fraser Tweedale via Chat wrote:<br></div>
<blockquote><div>On Wed, Jan 18, 2017 at 02:28:15PM +1100, Fraser Tweedale via Chat wrote:<br></div>
<blockquote><div>On Thurs lunch, there will be a BoF to discuss the Access to<br></div>
<div>Retained Data in Civil Proceedings consultation, and workshop<br></div>
<div>submissions.<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Info:<br></div>
<div><a href="https://linux.conf.au/wiki/conference/birds_of_a_feather_sessions/data-retention-consultation/">https://linux.conf.au/wiki/conference/birds_of_a_feather_sessions/data-retention-consultation/</a><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>The venue is not yet decided; if you know a place, lock it in.<br></div>
<div><br></div>
</blockquote><div>We'll meet in Tasman Hall A.<br></div>
</blockquote><div><br></div>
<div>FYI - I won't be able to be there for this, I've already promised my time<br></div>
<div>elsewhere, but here's the submission that FastMail made:<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Submission to Communications Security Branch regarding "Access to<br></div>
<div>telecommunications data in civil proceedings".<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>To whom it may concern,<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>FastMail Pty Ltd is an Australian company providing hosted internet email<br></div>
<div>and related services to individuals and companies in over 100 countries.<br></div>
<div>While we do sell our service to Australians, the bulk of our customer<br></div>
<div>base is overseas. Our customers tell us that a significant reason why<br></div>
<div>they choose to pay for our service is the privacy they are afforded under<br></div>
<div>Australian law.<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Because of The Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment<br></div>
<div>(Data Retention) Bill 2015, we have no infrastructure processing customer<br></div>
<div>data in Australia. We cancelled our plans to set up an Australian<br></div>
<div>datacentre because the metadata requirements made it more onerous to<br></div>
<div>store customer data inside Australia.<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>For businesses in other jurisdictions, the idea that their metadata could<br></div>
<div>be handed over by an Australian court for a civil case would make them<br></div>
<div>less willing to buy from us. This directly impacts our bottom line, and<br></div>
<div>likewise that of any other Australian company wishing to sell hosted<br></div>
<div>internet service overseas. European companies in particular require an<br></div>
<div>assurance that their data is being processed in such a way that they are<br></div>
<div>afforded the privacy and protections that their own countries require of<br></div>
<div>them by law.<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Even if an expanded scope of metadata use doesn't directly impact us now,<br></div>
<div>it creates an impression that the Australian Government will continue to<br></div>
<div>expand the scope of this class of laws until it does affect our users.<br></div>
<div>Metadata retention requirements hurt Australian companies exporting<br></div>
<div>services based on Australian skill.<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>We already suffer brain drain as a country, with many of our best<br></div>
<div>technologists moving to San Francisco to join the startup world there.<br></div>
<div>Laws that discourage forming technology startups in Australia by removing<br></div>
<div>privacy safeguards on access to customer business data will not help this<br></div>
<div>situation.<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>While it is obvious that civil litigants would like to be able to obtain<br></div>
<div>any data that can help their cases, metadata is rarely used to support<br></div>
<div>civil litigation, and civil litigation can already access the metadata<br></div>
<div>collected in everyday operations.<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>On the other hand, weakening of data protections makes Australian<br></div>
<div>companies less competitive globally. We strongly oppose the expansion of<br></div>
<div>metadata access for civil cases.<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Bron Gondwana on behalf of the Directors of FastMail.<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>--<br></div>
<div> Bron Gondwana<br></div>
<div> <a href="mailto:brong@fastmail.fm">brong@fastmail.fm</a><br></div>
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