Communication regarding online right-wing message boards

Adam Baheej Adada made this Freedom of Information request to Australian Federal Police

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Adam Baheej Adada

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

FOI, Australian Federal Police

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FOI, Australian Federal Police

1 Attachment

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

 

 

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WARNING

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are not the intended recipient or the person responsible for
delivering the message to the intended recipient be advised that you
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FOI, Australian Federal Police

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
-----Original Message-----
From: Adam Baheej Adada [mailto:[FOI #5410 email]]
Sent: Tuesday, 14 May 2019 1:27 PM
To: FOI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - 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

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UNCLASSIFIED
**********************************************************************
WARNING

This email message and any attached files may contain information
that is confidential and subject of legal privilege intended only for
use by the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you
are not the intended recipient or the person responsible for
delivering the message to the intended recipient be advised that you
have received this message in error and that any use, copying,
circulation, forwarding, printing or publication of this message or
attached files is strictly forbidden, as is the disclosure of the
information contained therein. If you have received this message in
error, please notify the sender immediately and delete it from your
inbox.

AFP Web site: http://www.afp.gov.au
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