November 8, 2014
Home Depot previously announced that it lost 56 million payment card details in a data breach (see my post on 24 September here). It has now announced that the data breach also involved Read the rest of this entry »
November 7, 2014
In the latest UNSW Law Journal there is an excellent article, Dawn of the Age of the Drone. It is mandatory reading for anyone who has an interest in privacy law and the rapid development of this technology.
In addition there are two interesting articles on the practical use of drones. The first is by Slate in Unidentified Drones Keep Flying Over French Nuclear Plants where it reports on Read the rest of this entry »
November 4, 2014
The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) announced a $10 million fine on TerraCom and its affiliate YourTel America for poor data security practices. This comes in the same week as the FCC announced that it was joining the Global Privacy Enforcement Network, the second US regulatory agency to join the Network, after the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”).
The nub of the complaint is Read the rest of this entry »
November 2, 2014
In Google Loses Lawsuit For Posting Woman’s Cleavage the issue a Canadian Court dealt with was the liability of Google for taking a photograph of a woman sitting on her stoop. The photograph showed Read the rest of this entry »
October 25, 2014
The Federal Court proceeding Professor Barry Spurr v At Large Media Pty Ltd ACN 144 75 316 & Anor has generated considerable reportage and analysis about privacy law and its inadequacies in equal measure with commentary on Professor Spurr’s attitude to various groups within the community and his general penmanship as revealed by his leaked emails. His claim appears to be Read the rest of this entry »
October 23, 2014
Barry Spurr’s action in the Federal Court against New Matilda may have received reasonably close coverage but the basis of the claim for injunctive relief has not been Read the rest of this entry »
Given that in Australia the effectiveness, or otherwise, of regulation of privacy at the Federal level is dependent on the Privacy Commissioner’s attitude to enforcement and (to a lesser extent) his resources, it is always interesting to hear what he has to say. A slightly more rigorous analysis, but only just, than reading tea leaves and consulting astrological charts in determining what will happen in the future. In Australia Read the rest of this entry »
October 22, 2014
The ABC reports in Professor Barry Spurr mounts legal fight over publication of racist emails in New Matilda on Professor Barry Spur obtaining an interim injunction in the Federal Court not to publish any further details about emails by Professor Spur. While the report does not specify the basis for injuctive relief it is most likely grounded in section 98 of the Privacy Act. Interestingly the report also states that Read the rest of this entry »
October 21, 2014
Australian privacy related jurisprudence inches along in a state of lassitude. The latest report by the Australian Law Reform Commission advocating reform to this area of law including recommending a statutory tort of for serious invasions of privacy was tabled this year. Its reception was muted to say the least and the Government has already made it clear that it does not support enacting such a tort. Meanwhile in the United States the US Supreme Court has displayed continued interest in privacy following on from its unanimous decision in United States v Jones and the earlier unanimous decision in Kyllo v United States with its decision to grant a petition to hear an appeal from a decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in City of Los Angeles v Patel on whether Read the rest of this entry »
October 20, 2014
The Atlantic in Dudes with Drones gives an entertaining and valuable insight into how the unmanned aerial vehicle industry (aka drones) is morphing at an exponential rate by following a a group of entrepeneurs and enthusiasts. In the USA an estimated 500,000 drones have been sold to date. From a privacy perspective the moves to use facial recognition on drone mounted video cameras and the increasing capacity and battery life is a matter of concern. The technology is Read the rest of this entry »