Metadata regime opens the door to copyright prosecutions

The Australian Greens said today that the government's metadata regime would make it easier for companies to embark on speculative invoicing attacks against Australians who are suspected of downloading movies in breach of copyright.

"The Federal Court decision today, that will see the names and residential addresses of around 4700 alleged copyright infringers handed to a US company, is likely to be the first of many," Senator Scott Ludlam, Australian Greens communication spokesperson said today.

"Copyright laws exist for a reason and they should not be infringed upon.

"However, there are broader concerns for those Australians who face being targeted by trawling missions from overseas companies, using information that was collected under the guise of national security.

"Handing over information for copyright infringement is very different to storing it as part of police or terrorism investigations.

"Now that the Government has mandated that mass metadata storage be undertaken, they need to establish clear rules and transparency around the ways in which this information could be used to target people suspected of torrenting a film," Senator Ludlam concluded.