Chris Berg writes in The Age: What’s the point of having a charter of human rights if it just gets ignored? The Summary Offences and Control of Weapons Acts Amendment 2009 is burrowing its way through State Parliament at the moment. Designed to tackle ”knife violence”, this bill will give police an extraordinary new array…
Category: Laws
Ninth Circuit rejects Patriot Act challenge for lack of standing
Matt Glenn of JURIST reports: The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled [opinion, PDF] Thursday that a lawsuit seeking to declare parts of the Patriot Act unconstitutional must be dismissed for lack of standing. Brandon Mayfield, an attorney arrested in 2004 based on FBI error in connection with the 2004 Madrid train…
AU: Consumers may be told of ID theft
Kim Christian reports: Australian businesses may soon be forced to tell their customers if their personal details have been stolen, under proposed new laws to combat identity theft. One of the world’s biggest technology security companies, Symantec Corp, says it has been approached to assist the federal government with “advice and support” in drafting privacy…
Media shield legislation approved by Senate committee
The Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday approved legislation to establish a qualified privilege for journalists to protect their confidential sources and the public’s right to know. The bipartisan Free Flow of Information Act was first listed for Committee consideration in April, and Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has worked with the bill’s chief sponsors to move the…