Dutton plea for access
MOTORISTS were quick to pounce on bargain fuel in Geelong yesterday. Queues were seen at the APCO petrol station on Moorabool St opposite GMHBA Stadium about noon as its unleaded fuel plunged to 136.9c a litre. But one driver told the Geelong Advertiser the discount-price unleaded petrol had all sold out last night, with signs on the pumps telling motorists there was none left.
Last Sunday, most Geelong region retailers were selling unleaded between 159.8c and 164.8c a litre, according to the RACV online fuel watch tool.
APCO director Peter Anderson said last month his fuel buying price had risen after part of the global supply chain was halted following an attack on crucial Saudi Arabian oil facilities. Production has since resumed. FACEBOOK has defended encrypted messaging in the face of a multi-government bid to access online information as part of a crusade against child abuse.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has written an open letter to Facebook along with US Attorney-General William Barr, acting US Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan and UK Home Secretary Priti Patel.
Mr Dutton, who is in Washington as he continues his crusade against the circulation of child pornography, says it is time for Facebook to pick a side.
“All companies, including Facebook, must have zerotolerance when it comes to child exploitation and not allow their platforms to facilitate these sick crimes,” he said.
Facebook’s WhatsApp uses so-called end-to-end encryption, which locks up messages so even Facebook cannot read their contents.
But it culls accounts and chat groups for suspicious activity, without being able to see message content.
The governments want tech giants to give police access to such content in a “readable and usable format”.
“Companies should not deliberately design their systems to preclude any form of access to content,” the letter says.
But the tech giant says people have the right to hold private conversations online.
“We strongly oppose government attempts to build backdoors because they would undermine the privacy and security of people everywhere,” a spokesman said.
Australian law enforcement can use warrants to access details about messages, but not the written content.