Peter A Clarke

That the development of drone technology has been rapid is trite. The transformation in the use of drones from exclusively military applications, surveillance and as a weapons platform, to civilian use has been extraordinary.  I have posted on the developments here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here  and here. Their use has been touted in agriculture, in search and rescue, and more worryingly in border protection and policing.  Then there are the hobbyists who can easily buy a small drone which can be controlled by an iphone or ipad (see ad for Parrot A.R Drone Quadricopter at Dick Smith here ).  And of course in journalism.  Drones are ready made for journalists. Its use by everyday users and journalists presents the greatest challenge to privacy protections of members of the public.

The extent to which journalism has embraced drone technology is apparent in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s article 2 Drone-Journalism Programs Seek Federal Approval to Resume Flying.  The Lincoln College of Journalism in Nebraska and the Missouri School of Journalism have established programs to teach journalism students how to use drones in their reporting.  One would have thought Read the rest of this entry »

The Islington Council has been fined £70,000 after disclosing sensitive personal information of more than 2,000 in response to an FOI request.

The media release of the Information Commissioner’s Office (found here) provides:

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has served Islington Council with a monetary penalty of £70,000 after personal details of over 2,000 residents were released online.

The information was inadvertently released in response to a freedom of information request, and revealed sensitive personal information relating to residents’ housing needs, including details of whether they had a history of mental illness or Read the rest of this entry »

The Privacy Commissioner has released draft chapters of the guidelines as part of the consultation process.  Comments close on 20 September 2013. They can be found here.

The Guidelines (absent index)provides:

Chapter A — Introductory matters
Purpose
A.1    The Australian Information Commissioner issues these Australian Privacy Principles Guidelines (APP guidelines) under s 28(1) of the Privacy Act 1988.  These guidelines are not a legislative instrument (s 28(4)).
A.2    The APP guidelines outline how the Information Commissioner interprets and applies the APPs when exercising functions and powers under the Privacy Act relating to the APPs.
Australian Privacy Principles (APPs)
A.3    The APPs are the cornerstone of the privacy protection framework in the Privacy Act. The APPs set out standards, rights and obligations in relation to Read the rest of this entry »

I have posted on the Australian Privacy Commissioner’s findings of his review of privacy policies on the internet (found here).  It was part of a global internet sweep by privacy authorities.

The Canadian Privacy Commissioner’s office also released its findings which are as broadly similar to the Austrlian Privacy Commissioner’s findings but much more detailed.  The picture is not particularly good.  Too many policies are poorly drafted, incoherent and generally do not “get” what a privacy policy should do.

The Findings are set out below (and found here):

Privacy policies should be easy to understand and provide meaningful information, Privacy Commissioner says after the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and other global data protection authorities sweep more than 2,000 online privacy policies.

OTTAWA, August 13, 2013 — From tweet-sized privacy statements Read the rest of this entry »

The UK Information Commissioner has prosecuted a probation officer who revealed a domestic abuse victim’s new address to the alleged perpetrator.

The ICO’s media release is found here and provides:

A probation officer who revealed a domestic abuse victim’s new address to the alleged perpetrator Read the rest of this entry »

The Privacy Commissioner has issued a media release, Privacy Commissioner: Website privacy policies are too long and complex, announcing the release of what he calls as “privacy sweep” of websites used by most Australians.  He found nearly 50% of website policies were difficult to read.  In my professional experience it is usually more than that and sometimes difficult merges into completely incoherent.

The summary of the sweep is:

the OAIC examined Read the rest of this entry »

Internet filtering was a hottish topic in Australia pre election campaign, particularly with the Communications minister.  He was hardly the first enthusiast for some way of taming the internet of its more pernicious users. The BBC highlights in British Library’s wi-fi service blocks ‘violent’ Hamlet why it is such a flawed concept. The British Library’s wi fi network  filtered Hamlet because of its violent content.  One can only imagine what would have become of Macbeth Read the rest of this entry »

The Information Commissioner’s Office has recently undertaken a study of data breach incidents reported in the period 1 April – 30 June of this year.

The diagram of the findings are show:

Incident type

Incidents Read the rest of this entry »

The tension between celebrities and the media over privacy is ongoing and occasionally flares up into open conflict, physical and legal.  To what extent do celebrities give up a right to privacy when they selectively seek out publicity seems to be the argument. The proposition is, of course, fatuous.  Because someone’s life involves publicity, such as an actor, politician or celebrity, does not mean their right to seclusion is extinguished.  There is no hypocrisy in engaging with the media in the course of work or even by choice and having a desire and entitlement to privacy in other aspects of one’s life, such as with family, children especially.   Variety in  Celebs Can’t Expect Privacy – But What About Their Kids?looks at that issue.  The law has considered this issue in the UK.  In Murray v Big Pictures (UK) Ltd[2008] EWCA Civ 446 the Court of Appeal found that the children of celebrities were entitled to freedom from media intrusion.  The seminal decision of Hosking v Runting [2004] NZCA 34 where the New Zealand Court of Appeal established a tort of privacy involved photographs of the appellants’ children. In Australia the basis for the protection would be grounded in equity, following the UK line of authority rather than the New Zealand approach.

The article provides Read the rest of this entry »

Der Spiegal reports on paparazzi using drones to take photo’s at Tina Turner’s recent wedding in Switzerland.

The story provides:

When Tina Turner got married at her estate in Switzerland over the weekend, she wanted to keep paparazzi away. But photographers used drones and other aircraft to get the exclusives they needed. The battle for pictures is increasingly moving into the airspace.

Tina Turner and German music producer Erwin Bach wanted to make sure that their wedding would not be disturbed. The ceremony, with its roughly 120 celebrity guests, took place on Sunday behind the high walls and trees surrounding Turner’s Villa Algonquin estate in the suburb of Küsnacht, on Lake Zurich. The couple set up large red cloth to block the lakeside garden from prying eyes and photographer’s lenses.

 Shortly after the Buddhist ceremony, the wedding party was startled by a small plane overhead. Toto Marti, a photographer for the Swiss tabloid Blick, leaned forward in the copilot seat and hit the shutter release. The publication landed a scoop and cashed in. Tabloids and magazines all over the world printed the photo. In Germany, it was the cover photo on both the mass-circulation daily Bild and the popular glossy Bunte.

It was exactly this that Turner, 73, and Bach wanted to prevent — and most likely, in the interest of their media partners, were obligated to prevent. They expected that photographers Read the rest of this entry »