Peter A Clarke

Monday’s Four Corners is not the first to highlight the impact to individuals privacy with the widespread use of tracking device and data mining.  But it is an excellent introduction to the problem  using real people doing ordinary activities.  It is worth a view here.

The transcript of the program provides:

KERRY O’BRIEN, PRESENTER: Digital age, welcome to Four Corners.

It’s hardly news in this era of information rich technology that privacy is gradually being eroded, or that our digital profiles are being Read the rest of this entry »

Privacy practitioners, legal or otherwise, know that the impact of the amendments to the Privacy Act 1988 when they  take effect on 12 March 2014 will be significant for many organisations.  From that date the Privacy Commissioner will have considerable powers regarding breaches of the Privacy Act including civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court for serious interference with personal information.  There has been some reportage of the impending changes but my observation is that many organisations have not properly understood their significance , the work required for many of them to become compliant and the consequences of not being compliant with the Act.  In today’s Australian Business Spectator there is a very good article, A rude privacy shock on the horizon,  on the impending change to the privacy regulatory regime and the lack of preparedness by many in the business community.  It is found here.  The Business Spectator is not given to wild speculation.

The article provides:

Australia’s about to get tougher new privacy laws. Businesses were given a year’s notice, but with half that time already gone, many haven’t even started thinking about it. They could be in for a rude shock — including fines of up to $1.7 million if they get it wrong.

Privacy experts have always said Read the rest of this entry »

Australian Privacy Principle 11 requires an organisation or agency to “..take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstances to protect the information from misuse, interference and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Encryption has been one of the key means of protecting data, both in situ and, especially, in transit to another location.

In the Privacy Commissioner’s guidelines to data security he defines encryption as

There are no shortage of announcements about governments and businesses using cloud server providers. The New South Wales State Government has announced that 60 providers have been registered to be part of a private marketplace for IT services that will be housed in a data centre which also houses the NSW IT Government IT (see article here) while the Queensland Government is accelerating its use of cloud computing (see article here).  The Victorian Government has made announcements regarding its take up of cloud computing (see  here) including the use of cloud computing by the Victorian Supreme Court for case base managment.  In Victorian Supreme Court gets cloud for case management Zdnet reported on 28 August 2013

The Victorian government today announced Read the rest of this entry »

According to a recent Atlantic article Of Course Teens Think About Privacy, They Have Parents more than 50 per cent of teen app users have avoided downloading privacy concerns because of privacy concerns.  The article provides:

More than 50 percent of teen app users have avoided downloading apps because of privacy concerns, according to a new Pew Internet Project and Berkman Center poll of teenagers.

Another 26 percent Read the rest of this entry »

Today the ALRC released its first newletter on its inquiry for the Invasions of Privacy inquiry.  No firm timetable has been set down but the general timeline is research and consultation until mid September, an issues paper in late September followed by a call for submissions and the release of a Discussion Paper in late February 2014.  Then the call for more submissions.

The newsletter provides:

I am very honoured to have been asked to lead the Inquiry into how the law should redress serious invasions of privacy in the digital age.  It is an enormous challenge but we are fortunate at the ALRC that our task builds upon much work that has already been done by law reform commissions and others in Australia.  Many of the issues have been considered in previous reports, while the legal protection of privacy has been extensively debated in academic literature, in the legal profession, in the media, in the broader community and in larger inquiries about the role and future of the media.  There has been active and recent judicial development of privacy law by the courts of the United Kingdom and New Zealand which provides valuable guidance on the application of legal principles.

The inquiry is asked by its Terms of Reference to design a statutory cause of action for serious invasions of privacy but it is also asked to consider, more widely, other innovative ways in which the law could prevent or redress serious invasions of privacy.

In Australia, protection of privacy is Read the rest of this entry »

On 1 April 201 3 in Drones to be used by environmental group for surveillance on private properties I posted on the acquisition of a drone by animal liberationists to spy on farmers.  It was a story well covered by the Australian press at the time.  I had no doubt that they would use the drones for that purpose.  Hardly surprising given the use to which drones have been put overseas and the lack of controls in place against such behaviour.

The ABC Landline program in Sky Wars  and Animal Liberation activists launch spy drone to test free-range claims reports that the animal liberationists have done just what they said they would do.  The focus of the story Read the rest of this entry »

The Daily Beast in Palace Wins Kate Privacy Battle As Telegraph Pulls Kate Shopping Pics reports on the Daily Telegraph removing from its web site pictures of Kate Middleton shopping in Anglesey this week. The story does not make it clear whether this was done in the teeth of a threatened action for breach of confidence/ evolving tort of privacy or moral suasion pursuant to a supposed previous understanding.

That the photographs are taken in a public place or a private place where the public have a general licence does not preclude bringing a privacy related action in the UK.  It would not be possible Read the rest of this entry »

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 »