December 5, 2013
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 »
December 4, 2013
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 »
December 2, 2013
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 »
December 1, 2013
The UK is looking to review the ISO27000 series standards for privacy.
The Department for Business and Innovation Skills issued a statement providing:
Businesses said that cyber security standards need to:
- be internationally-recognised
- promote Read the rest of this entry »
November 29, 2013
Today the ACMA commences a campaign on the usage of smart devices, especially phones, by youth and the consequences of oversharing. ACMA has set up a cybersmart website found here.
The media release (found here) relevantly provides:
It’s something all too obvious to parents of teenagers: how much life has changed in the last three years, let alone since they were teens. And with smartphones now in most teens’ pockets, using Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp and hashtags, the ins and outs of social media can be Read the rest of this entry »
November 28, 2013
Public Books has reviewed a newly released book by Oxford University Press, Family Secrets: Shame and Privacy in Modern Britain. It is an interesting review of the development of the concept of privacy from its original concepts to the modern cause of action.
The review provides:
October 10, 2013 — Family Secrets by Deborah Cohen injects the marrow back into two centuries of skeletons locked away in household closets. A leading historian of modern Britain and Europe, Cohen has put together a rollicking read through the hidden land of cultural morality and its fundamental institution, the family. A son who prefers lipstick to lip balm might bring little shame to the family name today, but Cohen takes it as her project to explain how the secrets of the 19th century have been transformed into questions of privacy in the 20th. The sources of Read the rest of this entry »
November 27, 2013
The report UN backing universal privacy right highlights the concern and frustration over the phone tapping scandal arising out of the Snowden revalations. Germany and Brazil were particularly annoyed and sponsored the motion. It will of course have little practical effect.
The UN General Assembly’s human rights committee has unanimously adopted a resolution sponsored by Brazil and Germany to protect the right to privacy against unlawful surveillance, following months of reports about US eavesdropping abroad.
The symbolic resolution, Read the rest of this entry »