[AusNOG] Metadata defined in the bill

[Siraj 'Sid' Rakhada]

On 26 Mar 2015, at 18:43, Mark Newton wrote:

> If you folks within the service provider industry aren’t prepared to 
> take an active role in determining the regulations that dictate 
> whether and how you’re capable of earning a living, why are you even 
> here? Wouldn’t you be happier doing market gardening or retailing 
> luggage or inventing offshore over-the-top services or something?

The discussion seems to be going in an odd direction - it's not like 
people didn't oppose this legislation. It's also not like the 
legislation went in with amendments without being properly scrutinised 
by the opposition.
It's also not like data retention laws haven't gone into being into 
other countries without being opposed. (Thankfully some of the other 
countries have realised it's a dumb law and have repealed their version 
of mandatory data retention).

I'd like to pretend to myself that this is only happening because a few 
companies in the industry didn't band together - but I think that's a 
bit disingenuous, and detracts from the fact that this is a crazy law 
(crazier than other data retention laws that I've previously looked at), 
and it's gone in without any real scrutiny by the opposition on the late 
amendments!

I really don't think even the industry banding together with a clear 
point would've made a difference, considering how the law passed into 
being.

I'm not sure where the energy against this new law is spent. I do think 
it's not best spent at service providers. They really didn't create this 
situation.

Sid

PS. No, I'm not a service provider, and I am definitely not a lawyer!