ASIO telecommunications interception and data access powers

Abstract

Modern mobile phones bear no resemblance to rotary-dial phones of the 1960s. The volume and nature of data extracted from intercepting a ‘telecommunications service’ in today’s online world is fundamentally different to ‘wire-tapping’ a phone conversation. Yet the statutory threshold for ASIO to intercept a telecommunications service has not changed since 1960. There is no statutory requirement to consider privacy or proportionality when issuing ASIO a warrant. The situation is similar for access to telecommunications data (metadata), once just a list of numbers dialled but now a rich source of personal information. This article argues that it is time for the law to change.