The biggest news in many parts of the world for the last month has been the Edward Snowden saga after he leaked information regarding previously secret US surveillance programs. The whole ordeal has generally been an eye-opening experience for much of the public and as Snowden attempts at escaping the grasp of American authorities, we continue to find out the extent of these surveillance programs, which now has added Australia to the list.
It has been uncovered that at the end of 2001, while Australia’s largest telecommunications network, Telstra, was still owned by the government, the Australian government signed an agreement with the FBI and US Department of Justice that required Telstra to store data for the intelligence agencies. Apart from gleaning this information, Telstra has been silent about the extent of its data storing and whether it has made similar agreements with other countries, or even the Australian government. Likewise, Optus, the second largest network, has admitted nothing regarding any potential data storage.
No doubt this is the last that we’ll hear of this, but whatever side of the fence you sit on about this whole ordeal, you do wonder how far and deep does America have its feelers around the world. What are your thoughts on this whole surveillance ordeal? Let us know what you think below.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
