The Instrumentality of Metadata Access Regime for Suppressing Political Protests in Australia

Australians, just like many other people around the world, are taking to the streets. What started as a few small sparks earlier in a year — Greta, school strikes, Extinction Rebellion — unravelled during Australian bushfires crisis, spread to anti-lockdown protests over COVID-19 restrictions, and now exploded into massive protests on racial injustice with ‘Black Lives Matter’, the ‘Aboriginal deaths in custody’ movement and calls to tear down statutes of a racist colonial legacy. Strong consciousness of racial and environmental injustice is driving the protests, despite the COVID-19 risk of mass gatherings. We look at how metadata access in Australia limits the ability to protest anonymously.   Read More by hub members Genna Churches and Monika Zalnieriute