The tentacles of extradition

And is it any coincidence that the international IP protective matrix is being constructed in tandem with a co-ordinated international move towards increased social media monitoring and data gathering, and hugely expanded data retention and analysis capabilities? According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, unnamed parties are even seeking to broaden the uses of European Union Data Retention Directive to include prosecution of copyright infringement.

As recently amended, Australia's extradition laws enable a person to be extradited for minor offences (punishable by less than 12 months imprisonment); any offence prescribed by Australia regulations are among those that will no longer be considered political, and extradition is not precluded if the person faces cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment that is not severe enough to amount to torture. The level of proof required for US extradition isn't high: 'evidence sufficient to cause a person of ordinary prudence and caution to conscientiously entertain a reasonable belief of the accused's guilt.'

Justice Young's comments reflected concerns about basic conceptions of laws and individual liberty. The game has changed, and is changing, for the worse. What is to become of kids who blithely ignore intellectual property rights online? What is to become of individuals who engage in non-violent political protest on the internet? How many of us really consider the potential risks of our online activities? Will our Attorney-General use the discretion she has to stop extradition of an Australian citizen? Into what other areas will extraditable offences stretch merely to protect commercial interests reframed as "national economic security"?

And our fate will be left with the backroom manipulators: I bet you've never seen a Theresa May walk our Government's corridors?