Christopher A. Parsons

Computer network operations and ‘rule-with-law’ in Australia

Computer Network Operations (CNOs) refers to government intrusion and/or interference with networked information communication infrastructures for the purposes of law enforcement and security intelligence. The following article explores how CNOs are lawfully authorised in Australia, and considers the extent to which the current use of CNOs are subject to ‘counter-law’ developments. More specifically, the article finds that the scope and application of CNOs in Australia are subject to weak legislative controls, that while such operations might be ‘lawful’, they undermine rule of law and disturb core democratic freedoms.

Privacy, surveillance, and the democratic potential of the social web

This chapter argues that theories about privacy would benefit from embracing deliberative democratic theory on the grounds that it addresses harms to democracy, and widens our understandings of privacy infringements in social networking environments. We fi rst explore how social networking services (SNS) have evolved through diff erent phases and how they enable political deliberation. Subsequently, we discuss more traditional individualistic and intersubjective theories of privacy in relation to social networking and point out their limitations in identifying and redressing social networking-related harms. We then critique emerging claims concerning the social value of privacy in the context of the social Web. Here we point out how these theories might identify non-individualized harms, yet, at the same time, suff er important challenges in application. We conclude by arguing that deliberative democratic theory can add some critical insights into the privacy harms encountered on the contemporary “social Web” that are only imperfectly understood by individualistic and social conceptions of privacy

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Law Enforcement in Australia and Canada: Governance Through ‘Privacy’ in an Era of Counter-Law?

Comparing Australian and Canadian government attempts to regulate aerial surveillance technology provides an interesting window into how unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) surveillance, and surveillance technologies more broadly, are enabled and constrained by factors beyond the conventional purview of national security and law enforcement activities. This chapter examines current uses of UAVs in Australia and Canada, and considers the associated legal, privacy and social implications of their use in each jurisdiction. The chapter considers how institutional drivers and regulatory responses to UAV technologies in each country—shaped by a configuration of transport safety requirements, privacy regimes, technical developments, laws, and social norms—inform different pathways of emergence of UAV technologies and strategies of surveillance in national security and law enforcement.