A law forcing Australian phone and internet companies to keep records for two years has been passed by both houses of parliament. The new legislation will allow security agencies access to this data, who say it’s necessary for anti-terrorism measures.

Despite privacy-based objections from minor Australian parties, the right-wing Coalition government teamed up with the centrist opposition Labor Party to get the bill through the Senate – a week after the bill passed in the House of Representatives. The legislation passed with 43 votes for and 16 against, despite last minute lobbying by the Green Party to make amendments to the law. The bill now only has to be given royal assent, which is a formality.

Labor announced last week that it would vote with the Coalition to make sure the law, which will force phone and internet companies to hold on to data for two years, was passed after the two parties agreed to make a number of amendments, including providing extra protection to journalists. This was enabled in order to protect whistleblowers and anonymous sources.

Read the Full Article: Source – Russia Today
http://rt.com/news/244321-australia-passes-data-retention/

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