PRESS: Kaspersky offers amendments to Australia’s data access law

MOSCOW, Jul 11 (PRIME) -- Russian antivirus maker Kaspersky believes an Australian law could move the balance from Internet users and firms to law enforcement entities and has prepared suggestions to improve it, business daily Kommersant reported on Thursday.

Running a local office, Kaspersky offered amendments to the law adopted in Australia in late 2018 and obliging Internet companies to provide law enforcement with access to correspondence of users. The law stipulates a fine of up to U.S. $7 million and criminal punishment for a refusal to share data.

The law must pass an assessment for possible amendments by 2020. “Since we earlier sent our recommendations, we were asked to prepare our view of the law. Just like other players of the market, we submitted the second package of recommendation,” Oleg Abdurashitov, head of the regional department at Kaspersky, told Kommersant.

He said the law is stricter in comparison to the similar regulation in the U.S. and the U.K.

Australian companies say they have to move development or servers outside the country to keep foreign customers, Abdurashitov said.

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