After Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said his party cannot back the complete Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill last week, Labor and the Coalition have reached an in-principle agreement on the bill, the Guardian reports. The deal limits that the bill's power is used only in “serious offences” and adds safeguards to law enforcement agencies’ ability to demand backdoor access to encrypted products. Dreyfus said the bill was “far from perfect and there are likely to be significant outstanding issues,” adding, “But this compromise will deliver security and enforcement agencies the powers they say they need over the Christmas period, and ensure adequate oversight and safeguards to prevent unintended consequences while ongoing work continues — just as Labor proposed.”
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