The beauty world may seem far removed from politics, but there’s new legislation coming into play that is set to change the way media work. The metadata retention bill will give the government access to telecommunications companies’ metadata for a two-year period, including details such as the time and location of communication.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the move is “absolutely crucial” to security agencies in terms of their capacity to fight terrorism and serious crime. However, the bill has been criticised by journalists, who feel the legislation erodes their protection and forces the unveiling of sources.
Many journalists believe the bill targets the freedom of the press - a mentality rebuffed by the government. Attorney-general senator George Brandis maintains: “The targets are criminals, paedophiles and terrorists. Journalists are not the object of the law.”
But independent senator Nick Xenophon is adamant that “this will have a chilling effect on journalism…[whistleblowers] won’t come forward if they don’t know they will be protected.”
After pressure from the opposition and fears the legislation will stifle investigative journalism, the government has agreed to amend the current bill. It will facilitate a change requiring law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant to access journalists’ metadata to identify sources. Abbott says: “I have decided that a further amendment be moved that will require agencies to require a warrant.”
But this legislation will not protect bloggers, with Brandis telling ABC radio: “I wouldn’t regard bloggers as journalists. A journalist is, for the purposes of this law, a person engaged in the profession of journalism. There is an interesting argument of course about what the margins of a journalist is; ultimately, that is a matter resolvable by the courts.”
