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Australian cops broke data law while checking a journalist's calls
There's a good reason why privacy and civil rights advocates object to far-reaching data collection laws: even if most police and spies are well-meaning, it's all too easy for others to abuse their power or make mistakes. And the Australian Federal Police just provided a good example of this problem. The law enforcement agency has admitted that it violated Australia's Telecommunications Interception Act by accessing the data of an unnamed journalist without the necessary special warrant. Officials say the spying was due to "human error" and have mended their ways (including deleting their copy of the data), but this kind of faux pas wouldn't have even been possible if it weren't for the existence of the TIA.
