Meta-data retention is an example of moral panic which hit Australian shores in October 2015. This concept was briefly mentioned in my BCM112 lecture this week in the context of  the legal climate around torrenting. This presentation (click on the picture to view it) will look at defining metadata retention, explain what is and is not stored, discover resistance to it and how to avoid it. I will look at the example of the Five Eyes and Edward Snowden and discuss what the potential consequences of metadata retention could be for Australia, and finally its overall impact on democracy.

At this point it is important to note that although the metadata legislation was passed in late 2015, not all ISP’s (Internet Service Providers) had the means to store the necessary data. 85% have confessed to this (source) and so have been given until April 2017, a year from now, to become fully compliant. In this sense, despite the controversy which has already occurred, we are yet to see the full impact of metadata retention on Australian society.

-Claire