Peter A Clarke

The most recent Harvard Law review (Volume 127 November 2013) has published replies to 2 excellent earlier papers, The Dangers of Surveillance, 126 Harv. L. Rev. 1934 (2013) and Toward a Positive Theory of Privacy Law, 126 Harv. L. Rev. 2010 (2013).  Those papers were delivered at a symposium on privacy law held earlier this year. All the papers delivered at the symposium were excellent.  While the regulatory structure of US privacy law differs from Australia and there is a constitutional overlay there with the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments which are touchstones on some privacy jurisprudence (usually the most high profile cases) which is absent in Australia there is sufficient conceptual similarity for Australian practitioners of privacy law to obtain benefit in reviewing these papers.  Technology moves apace around the world and the law in every jurisdiction is (sometimes) trying to catch up and grapple with the right balance on a range of issues, including freedom of expression, law enforcement etc..

The Dangers of Surveillance

The 32 page article is found here (in PDF format)   The synopsis provides:

From the Fourth Amendment to George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, and from the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to films like Minority Report and The Lives of Others, our law and culture are full of warnings about state scrutiny of our lives. These warnings are Read the rest of this entry »

The increasing use of bring your own devices (BYOD) is a causing a very significant problem in maintaining data security and avoiding breaches of the Privacy Act.  Often the BYODs are unencrypted; a USB stick, a flash card or just the memory on a phone or MP3 device.  Easy to use and easier to lose track of the data.  Or worse, to lose the data.

The Economist in Thief in your pocket? considers the dangers of using mobile devices and their weaknesses.

The article provides:

Mobile security: When it comes to mobile devices, viruses are not the problem they are made out to be—at least, not yet. Instead, the biggest risk for organisations comes from absent-minded or nefarious employees

GIVEN Read the rest of this entry »

The PM radio program does regular analysis pieces on various topical issues without being specific to a particular event.  It is an excellent approach because while it is usually tied to a matter of recent interest it does not go stale with time.

In light of the Read the rest of this entry »

Data breaches in the health sector is an ongoing issue requiring close supervision.  The information, usually of or relating to patients, is almost invariably highly confidential.  And by definition sensitive information under the Privacy Act.  In the UK a former manager of a GP’s Practice has been prosecuted for unlawfully accessing medical records of 1940 patients.

The ICO has Read the rest of this entry »

The rapid and exponential increase in the civilian use of drone technology highlights the inadequacy of privacy protection in Australia.  Whereas American state legislatures are moving the fill the regulatory gaps regarding the use of drones in Australia neither Read the rest of this entry »

Geoffrey Robertson has penned an opinion piece on privacy protection in Australia, notably Read the rest of this entry »

The High Court will hand down its decision in Willmott Growers Group Inc v. Willmott Forests Ltd (Receivers and Managers Appointed) (In Liquidation) In its capacity as manager of the unregistered managed investment schemes listed in Schedule 2 and Ors this Wednesday 5 December 2013.

For those, like myself, who practice in the corporations and insolvency area it is a long awaited decision with significant ramifications.

The High Court transcript provides:

MR G.T. BIGMORE, QC: May it please the Court, I appear Read the rest of this entry »

The Washington Post reports  (found here) on the death of Willis Ware, one of the great computer engineers.  He presience was extraordinary in predicting the ubiquity of personal computers, the formation of social networks but also the negative privacy impacts of these innovations.

It provides:

Computer Read the rest of this entry »

The UK is looking to review the ISO27000 series standards for privacy.

The Department for Business and Innovation Skills issued a statement providing: