Telstra has been providing Australian users' web browsing histories to law enforcement agencies without a warrant, a paper published by parliament has revealed.

This comes in spite of claims from ASIO and the AFP that the browsing histories of Australians were only accessible to law enforcement if there had been a warrant.

The report published by the parliamentary library reveals that metadata, including website URLs, can be and have been given to government agencies.

"ASIO and enforcement agencies can themselves authorise disclosure of metadata from telecommunications service providers, without a warrant," the report states.

In a 2012 inquiry, Telstra revealed it had disclosed URLs, or web addresses, to law enforcement.

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As long as they don't do it to find out Granny's latest pumpkin pie recipe.

it is ironic that in a time when govts are falling over themselves to introduce new privacy legislation, we seem to have less and less. Telstra should be charged for providing information without a warrant.

Didn't think they needed a warrant.

We used to restore whatever the cops wanted - all it took was a phone call to request whatever and then someone saying they were a cop to pick up the print outs/disks etc.

That wasn't Telstra - one of the other ones.

Life_goes_on wrote on Aug 21^st, 2014 at 3:45pm:

Didn't think they needed a warrant. We used to restore whatever the cops wanted - all it took was a phone call to request whatever and then someone saying they were a cop to pick up the print outs/disks etc. That wasn't Telstra - one of the other ones.

then you shouldn't have given it to them.  they are not entitled by law to it. and telcos should be banned by law from handing private data like this over without a warrant,

We've got 'whataya got ta 'ide' legislated as part of our culture. A legacy of our convict past. 

They're making a list of everyone who is not roman catholic, brainwashed, conformist, dumb sheep, Team Australia, Yes - We Can, pro war, system slave