OZschwitz poLICE hire private spies to spy on activists online

THE internet communications and websites of anti-war campaigners, environmentalists, animal rights activists and other protest groups are being secretly monitored by state and federal agencies.

A Melbourne private intelligence firm specialising in "open-source intelligence" has been engaged by Victoria Police, the Australian Federal Police and the federal Attorney-General's Department to monitor and report on the protest movements' use of the internet.

The monitoring, which has been secretly conducted for at least five years, includes exploring websites, online chat rooms, social networking sites, email lists and bulletin boards to gather information on planned demonstrations and other activities. Many of those monitored have not broken any laws, but it is believed information about their participation in online activities is conveyed to government agencies that also deal with terrorism.

Private email and telephone communications are not monitored by the company, which has requested not to be identified due to fears its staff could be targeted by more extreme activists.

But the revelation of internet monitoring is likely to raise fresh civil liberties concerns, especially after a covert Victoria Police operation targeting community and activist groups was revealed by The Age last month.

Other information provided to police in "threat assessments" or "intelligence reports" from the company include material derived from academic journals, speeches, media reports and publicly accessible company data.

As well as focusing on domestic activist groups, the company monitors news, government and security-related websites around the world for indicators on threats or potential threats to Australia and Australian interests abroad — including travellers — from acts of terrorism and civil unrest.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the information its Security Intelligence Group received from the company was all publicly available and accessed lawfully.

She said the company did not conduct any physical or electronic surveillance of individuals or groups. Nor did it trace online transactions.

"There is a substantial amount of information on the internet that assists Victoria Police in the preparation of threat assessments and strategic intelligence reports.

"Outsourcing this work is an efficient and effective way of collecting relevant information. Prior to this arrangement, the analysts and investigators spent a considerable amount of their time 'surfing the net'. This takes our members away from the more important aspects of their duties."

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OZschwitz poLICE hire private spies to spy on activists online

OZschwitz poLICE hire private spies to spy on activists online

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