Peter A Clarke

The Privacy Commissioner has issued a media release of a report by the Global Privacy Network seep which was published last week. The nub of it, risks to children’s privacy has increased . The figures are quite sobering with more being collected to access a site now than in 2015.

The media release provides:

The results of the latest Global Privacy Enforcement Network sweep, published today, show risks to children’s privacy have increased over the last decade.

The OAIC participated in the global sweep, which involved 27 data protection and privacy authorities from around the world, and examined almost 900 websites and apps that are used by children. While some are designed for children’s use more specifically, others are used by the general population but are popular with children.

The sweep found that more than half (59%) of the websites and mobile applications required the collection of an email address to access the full functionality of the platforms, followed by 50% requiring usernames, and 46% requiring geolocation. Overall, participants noted an increase in the collection of certain types of information compared to 2015. Read the rest of this entry »

The Privacy Commissioner has published an exposure draft of the Children’s Online Privacy Code. The Consultation period is open until 5 June 2026. The legislature has mandated that the Code will be registered on 10 December 2026.

The documents the Commissioner has produced as part of the Code are:

• Exposure Draft Children’s Online Privacy Code
• Short Guide to the Children’s Online Privacy Code
• Extended Guide to the Draft Children’s Online Privacy Code
• Exposure Draft Explanatory Statement
• Facilitator’s Guide – Children
• Facilitator’s Guide – Young People

The media release Read the rest of this entry »

The US Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) relies on breach of contract or representations in having jurisdiction to take action for misuse of personal information and data security. Its decision today to take action against Match and OK Cupid for sharing personal information with an undisclosed third party is quite typical in that regard.What is not typical here is that Match and OK Cupid breached its users privacy since 2014 and actively hid that misuse.  The data of three million customers were involved and the data involved photos and location information.

This case is a cautionary tale for organisations making representations and being loose in their language about how information is being handled.  In this case Match and OK Cupid adopted a very resistant and obstructive response to the FTC in its investigations.  That is quite foolish and short sighted.  It is better to co operate with the regulator where the breach is clear and the facts are not in dispute.

The settlement agreement will last for 10 years and involves considerable reporting requirements.

The Statement provides:

The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against OkCupid and its affiliate Match Group Americas over allegations OkCupid deceived users of its dating app by sharing their personal information, including photos and location information, with an unrelated third party, contrary to OkCupid’s privacy promises.

As part of a settlement, OkCupid, operated by Dallas-based Humor Rainbow, Inc., and Match Group Americas, which provides services for Humor Rainbow, will be prohibited from misrepresenting its privacy policies. Read the rest of this entry »