August 28, 2012
In today’s Punch, There’s no hiding the horror of a world without privacy, there is a reasonable article on privacy and intrusive technology.
It provides:
Young kids are growing up in an environment where it is normal to disclose their every thought, location and photo to friends and strangers alike on social media. Integrated technology allows businesses and governments to compile a dossier of information about your finances and personal life with every transaction.
Even now, with so much of your habits unwittingly disclosed by what you buy and look at online, you’ve shared more with your ISP than your own family probably knows. Without doubt, there is more information about you floating in the ether at the moment than you realise. Numberplate tracking, loyalty programs, website caching, online purchases and banking data, medical info, download histories… even your current location thanks to the GPS on the smartphone in your pocket.
And, as a bonus Read the rest of this entry »
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August 23, 2012
The California legislature has just passed the Location Privacy Bill 2012 by 63–11.
The bill has yet to be signed by the California Governor Jerry Brown. Brown vetoed a similar bill in 2011 which would require police to obtain a search warrant before searching the contents of an arrested suspect’s mobile device.
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Today the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Bill was read a second time.
The Attorney General’s Second Reading Speech provides:
The Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Bill 2012 is one of the most significant developments in privacy reform since Labor introduced the act in 1988.
With this bill Read the rest of this entry »
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August 17, 2012
Facebook and privacy may not be strangers but they only have passing awareness of each other. Having just resolved a breach of an agreement in America Facebook finds itself being investigated, again, in Germany for retaining biometric data without consent.
The article in out-law.com provides:
German privacy regulator re-opens investigation into Facebook facial recognition feature
Facebook is storing pictures of its users without having those individuals’ required consent to do so, a data protection authority in Germany has alleged.16 Aug 2012
The Hamburg data protection authority has re-opened its investigation into the issue and called on Facebook to delete the biometric data it has collected of its users through the use of automated facial recognition technology. It said the social network must obtain users’ opt-in consent before compiling information about users through the use of the feature, according to a report by the New York Times.
Facebook uses automated facial recognition technology to suggest to users the identity of other members of the site when they feature in pictures the users are uploading to the social network. Those users can choose to ‘tag’ those individuals based on the suggestions, meaning the pictures are labelled with pop-up captions to enable people who view the photos to identify who is in the shot by hovering their mouse over the picture.
Under the EU’s Data Protection Directive personal data can only be processed under strict conditions. Personal data must be “processed fairly and lawfully” and generally it can only be collected for “specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a way incompatible with those purposes”.
Organisations must generally obtain “unambiguous consent” from individuals in order for personal data processing to be Read the rest of this entry »
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August 14, 2012
Section 461(1)(k) of the Corporations Act is a very useful provision when dealing with directors and shareholders who are in dispute but there is no evidence of oppression (where sections 232 and 233 would apply). The circumstances giving rise to the court exercising the very broad discretion vary. As such it is worth briefly reviewing 3 decisions to gauge the approach the court’s take in the very practical exercise of deciding whether it is appropriate to wind up a company; Giacobbe & Anor v Giacobbe & Anor [2012] VSC 285, Warner v Global Pacific Aerospace Pty Ltd & Anor [2012] VSC 291 and White Family No 1 Pty Ltd v Organic Brands Pty Ltd & Anor [2011] VSC 247.
Giacobbe & Anor v Giacobbe & Anor [2012] VSC 285
Facts
Michele and Antonio Giacobbe, brothers, went into business in 1962 manufacturing and selling office furniture. In October 1974, a family trust was established and the furniture business became an asset of the trust. The beneficiaries of the trust were the two brothers and their respective family members. In the early 1980s, Michele and Antonio fell out Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Corporations Law, General, Insolvency, Legal
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August 11, 2012
The Federal Trade Commission has announced a settlement with Facebook regarding its policies on sharing information beyond the established privacy settings.
The announcement (found here) provides:
Facebook Must Obtain Consumers’ Consent Before Sharing Their Information Beyond Established Privacy Settings
Following a public comment period, the FTC has accepted as final a settlement with Facebook resolving charges that Facebook deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public.
The settlement requires Facebook to Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in General, Privacy, Privacy US case Law
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August 10, 2012
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced a settlement with Google for its misrepresentation of privacy assurances.
The statement provides:
Google Inc. has agreed to pay a record $22.5 million civil penalty to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it misrepresented to users of Apple Inc.’s Safari Internet browser that it would not place tracking “cookies” or serve targeted ads to those users, violating an earlier privacy settlement between the company and the FTC.
The settlement is Read the rest of this entry »
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August 9, 2012
The Victorian Privacy Commissioner is investigating a potential privacy issue involving Myki according to Zdnet.
The article provides:
A glitch in point of sales machines for Victoria’s Myki ticketing system has caught the attention of the Victorian Privacy Commissioner over concerns that the Transport Ticketing Authority may be compromising passengers’ privacy.
The Victorian Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) raised the privacy issue, providing images of receipts from Myki vending machines that contain customers’ full names, more than the last four digits of the credit cards used for transaction and the credit card expiry date.
Mastercard’s Security Rules and Procedures (PDF) clearly state that merchant members must omit the card expiration date and that only the last four digits of the card should be visible.
Additionally, Read the rest of this entry »
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August 8, 2012
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office has been penalised a health trust in Devon for releasing details of 1,000 employees on its web site. The announcement is found here.
The release provides:
A health trust in Torquay has been served with a £175,000 penalty after the sensitive details of over 1,000 employees were accidentally published on the Trust’s website, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced today.
Staff at Torbay Care Trust published the information in a spreadsheet on their website in April 2011 and only spotted the mistake when it was reported by a member of the public 19 weeks later. The data covered Read the rest of this entry »
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August 5, 2012
On 30 July Media Watch ran an exhaustive (for TV at least) on privacy issues with coverage of private tragedy involving the Channel 7 coverage of Molly Lord’s death. I posted on the incident here on 25 July 2012.
It is a fascinating story which throws a light on some newsgathering techniques, how the social networking impacts mainstream media and how that media seeks to justify itself. The transcript provides:
Private tragedy vs public interest
I am the mother of the beautiful Molly Lord who was killed on a quad bike last week. I would just like to let everyone know of the pain and harassment we suffered as a result of channel 7…
— Channel Seven News, Facebook page, 21st July, 2012
Welcome to Media Watch, I’m Jonathan Holmes, and no jokey start this week. Our main item concerns something too tragic, and too serious
It was on the Saturday before last Read the rest of this entry »
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