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Debates on the hot-button concerns of the day, with top experts on both sides of each issue. The audience has the opportunity to ask questions and vote on the motion before and aft

Debates on the hot-button concerns of the day, with top experts on both sides of each issue. The audience has the opportunity to ask questions and vote on the motion before and after the debate.

Intelligence Squared Debate: Government Spying

IQ2: Government Spying

02/05/2015 GMT

Government Spying

BBC World News - Intelligence Squared Debate, Government Spying

Is the golden era of spying ushering in a dark age for freedom?

With fears that extremists are plotting mayhem at home, the Australian government is looking to bolster its powers of surveillance and control. Simon Longstaff chairs the debate.

With a handful of Australians involved in committing atrocities in the deserts of Syria and with fears that extremists are plotting mayhem at home, the government is looking to bolster its powers of surveillance and control. Under proposed new laws, all Australian phone and internet records will be stored for two years, making it easier for the agents of national security to look into the private lives of citizens  - who they call and email, their daily habits and more. While the government argues that this data will only be used to catch the bad guys, civil libertarians and privacy activists hotly contend that the laws seriously interfere with fundamental privacy rights, dangerously allowing the state to put people under constant surveillance. But for many others, what�s the big deal? Surely law-abiding citizens have nothing to hide and the government urgently needs access to data for everyone�s protection. Is the golden era of spying ushering in a dark age for freedom?

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