Communication regarding online right-wing message boards
Dear Australian Federal Police,
I am writing to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
I am seeking any internal agency correspondence that contains any of the following phrases:
- 8chan
- 4chan
- /pol/
- Voag
- Gab
- Onion browser
- Tor browser
particularly in relation to alt-right or right-wing groups or individuals communicating online.
I also request that any fees related to this request be waived under public interest, given the media interest in this matter and that the response to this request will be published publicly online at the Right to Know website.
Yours faithfully,
Adam Baheej Adada
Thank you for your email.
Please note that this is an automated response to confirm that your email was sent to the Australian Federal Police Freedom of Information (FOI) inbox.
This FOI inbox is monitored between 8am and 4pm Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays and the period from 27-31 December.
If you wish to lodge a request for access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), please ensure that your request is in writing, states that it is an application for the purposes of the FOI Act and provides sufficient detail describing the documents you wish to access.
If you are requesting personal information about yourself then please ensure you enclose a copy of your photographic identification.
Further details on how to make a valid FOI request can be found on the Australian Federal Police’s website at: http://www.afp.gov.au/about-the-afp/foi-...
The Australian Federal Police will acknowledge your request in accordance with the legislative requirements of the Act.
The FOI Team can be contacted on 02 6131 6131
UNCLASSIFIED
Good Morning,
YOUR FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST
I refer to your application dated 14 May 2019, in which you seek access to
documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the Act) as follows:
"I am seeking any internal agency correspondence that contains any of the
following phrases:
- 8chan
- 4chan
- /pol/
- Voag
- Gab
- Onion browser
- Tor browser
particularly in relation to alt-right or right-wing groups or individuals
communicating online."
Timeframe
Your request was received by this agency on 14 May 2019, and the 30 day
statutory period for processing your request commenced from that date. The
due date for your request is 13 June 2019.
Information considered irrelevant to the scope of your request
The AFP, in its management of FOI requests, excludes the following
information on the basis that is irrelevant to the scope of a request:
o Names of AFP members, other than the Senior Executive.
o Direct telephone numbers, signatures and mobile telephone numbers of
AFP members.
o Duplicate documents, including duplicate emails. The AFP will only
provide emails where they form a final email chain and the
authors/recipients are contained within the final email.
o Information that is publicly available, for example, newspaper
articles, online publications including information available on the
AFP Information Publication Scheme and the AFP disclosure log.
If you object to the AFP excluding any of the above information, please
advise this office within seven days of receipt of this email.
Charges
You will be notified of any charges in accordance with the Freedom of
Information (Fees and Charges) Regulations, should they apply, in relation
to your request as soon as practicable.
Disclosure of your Identity
Should the AFP be required to consult with third parties in accordance
with the sections 26A, 27 and 27A of the Act, please advise us if you have
any objections to those parties knowing your identity for the purposes of
the consultation. If we do not receive your consent, we will not disclose
your identity to third parties.
Information Publication Scheme
Please be advised that effective 1 May 2011 and in accordance with section
8(2) of the Act, an agency is required to publish information on the AFP
website following the notification of a decision in respect of a freedom
of information request. Details of the decision will be published in a
Disclosure Log which can be found at
[1]https://www.afp.gov.au/about-us/informat....
The requirement to publish information released under FOI reinforces the
objectives of the FOI Act to promote a pro-disclosure culture across
government and to increase recognition that information held by government
is a national resource. Exceptions to the requirement to publish
information would apply to personal information and information concerning
the business affairs of a person if it was considered ‘unreasonable’ to do
so.
If, however, after noting the above, you wish to raise any concerns about
the publication of information concerning your request prior to the
notification of a decision, please advise this office in writing before 6
June 2019.
Kind Regards
JODI (AFP22841)
FOI OFFICER
CHIEF COUNSEL PORTFOLIO
Tel +61(0) 2 61316131
[2]www.afp.gov.au
[3]Australian Federal Police
UNCLASSIFIED
References
Visible links
1. https://www.afp.gov.au/about-us/informat...
2. http://www.afp.gov.au/
3. http://www.afp.gov.au/
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Mr Adada
I refer to your request below. Section 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act states that a request provide sufficient information to enable an agency identify the relevant documents. Unfortunately, your request does not contain sufficient information to enable the AFP to identify and locate any documents. Accordingly, are you able to provide further information about the groups or individuals that are communicating online that might assist us with our searches?
Regards,
JACQUELINE (AFP12306)
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
CHIEF COUNSEL
AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE
www.afp.gov.au