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Comment by gumby | Hacker News Reader

> Would an Australian employee of 1Password be forced to lie to us and do something that we would definitely object to?

This law is a disaster for Australia's software industry (sorry Atlassian) but as an Australian living and working outside Australia I can't see that I would be subject to it.

Australia is notoriously punitive to Aussies overseas (quite different from, say, India) so it would hardly make sense for such a stupid law to apply to us -- unless the US demanded it I suppose (this whole law is clearly a 5 eyes effort).

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The fear would be that software engineers who are Australian citizens would want to travel to Australia again to visit family, and then be forced to comply. You can be living and working in the United States, but if you're an Australian citizen traveling with an Australian passport they can simply not allow you to leave unless you implement a backdoor, never mind the fines and jail time.

How about simply visiting Australia without your corporate laptop? Or take the laptop but without the means to connect to the corporate network/accounts?

Visit Australia, get the notice, go back to wherever you live and work, and either implement the backdoor or get kicked whenever you return to Australia one more time.

People tend to be deeply attached to seeing their family and friends, so the mere hint that the reality of such laws could be purposely weaponizing those emotions is nothing shy of vicious. As a Dane who lives in Brazil I’d be devastated if I had to choose between the ability to see my family once a year or my ideals. It would tear me apart. To not be 100% sure I could go to my parents should one of them fall gravely ill e.g. would be heartbreaking.

I mean I love you people and I believe you are entitled to freedom, privacy and security but that is not a choice I’d make lightly. I do not envy Australian developers right now, not only is their marketability severely reduced, the emotional cost of taking a stand can be downright crushing to the spirit.

This is just.. evil. There is no other word for it.

Aren't you then trapped, as implementing a backdoor in foreign software on foreign soil on command of a different state might lead to charges of espionage in the country you are residing in?

Not clear that the coalition or labor would care.

I'm sorry, this is FUD.

Section 317ZG of https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2018A00148 specifically prevents individuals from implementing backdoors.

Where exactly does it mention individuals, elsewhere under the definition of provider, individuals are specifically included. 317ZG appears to make no mention of individuals.

Australians can be arrested and prosecuted for violating Australian law while outside of Australia. So even if something is not illegal in another country and you do it, you can still be charged under Australian law when you return, or in serious cases when they extradite you back.

> this whole law is clearly a 5 eyes effort

Bingo.

> I can't see that I would be subject to it

You can't deny to help, and you can't tell anyone you've been asked.

They could extradite you, put you in jail and the case simply wouldn't see the light of day. Even if they couldn't extradite, you've essentially renounced citizenship.

> They could extradite you, put you in jail and the case simply wouldn't see the light of day. Even if they couldn't extradite, you've essentially renounced citizenship.

Noncompliance with a TCN is a civil offense, not a criminal one. This law is bad enough, so there's no need to misrepresent how it handles noncompliance.

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