New encryption powers to seek assistance from tech companies to spy on users have been used at least five times by federal and New South Wales police, according to the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman has also called for home affairs minister Peter Dutton’s ability to censor its reports on the encryption reporting process to be revoked, claiming these powers don’t maintain the ombudsman’s position as an impartial office.
The Australian Information Industry Association has urged the Australian government to study whether the legislation was harming IT exports or forcing them out of the Australian market.