Electronic Frontiers Australia welcomes Lyndsey Jackson, EFA Chair as guest speaker to EFA Talks… an online lecture series—hosted by Angus Murray, chair of EFA’s policy committee.

Zoom information:

https://thoughtworks.zoom.us/j/92583572276?pwd=b1E3aVNjc21td2RHZW9sZTRJTzZlQT09
Password: 995898

The government debacle known as "Robodebt" has become Australia's own example of the destruction caused when digital policy fails. We now know the core of the program is illegal.

This time last year, we said that “Digital rights are at the intersection of human rights and digital policy, and Robodebt is a severe example of what happens when poorly considered policy is combined with equally poor implementation of digital systems. It’s become a cautionary tale to the rest of the world, yet another algorithm of oppression.”

Lyndsey was a part of the large community powered movement that lead to the uncovering of the human, social, political, administrative, and digital rights impact of Robodebt. The #notmydebt website, twitter account and facebook groups she helped found have been critical in sharing the human impact of the policy, and in building a community support and education network for people navigating the system.

In this event we will discuss;

the legality and legitimacy of the robodebt program
the need for transparency and an inquiry into the program
the community movement behind the campaign and how elements joined together
what robodebt tells us about the use of digital methods in government administration, policy, and services

EFA Talks are free with a suggested donation of $10 to support the work that EFA does as a volunteer organisation protecting and promoting digital rights in Australia for over 25 years and will continue to do so in this time of crisis.

This is the fourth EFA Talks session and they are scheduled to occur fortnightly to discuss pandemic related digital rights issues with digital, health and legal experts. They will wrestle with questions such as:

Are the measures being taken necessary and proportionate to the threat?
Are there other, better, rights-enhancing methods that could be used instead?
What can we do to build a better society on the other side of the crisis?

Join us.