Peter A Clarke

 That The Australian has a fear, dread and loathing of any form of a statutory right to privacy is no secret.  The Legal Affairs section  has occasional, bordering on regular, pieces by a range of commentators who run the usual complaints about such a tort.  Today the angle (on page one and five) is an interview with the new Attorney General under the banner Dreyfus sees free speech risk in privacy law (behind the pay wall).  From this exchange the august paper, through its Legal Affairs editor Chris Merritt (a consistent and longstanding critic of a statutory right to privacy), takes some comfort that such a tort may not be in the offing.

 It provides (with some notations):

Incoming attorney-general Mark  Dreyfus has expressed personal concern about the risk to freedom of speech from legislation that encourages people to sue each other for invasions of privacy.

Mr Dreyfus, who is replacing Nicola Roxon as the nation’s first law officer, said countries that had created  a  statutory  method  of suing for privacy had failed to achieve the right balance with freedom of speech. “Legislation in an effective way to protect privacy while at the same time not unduly affecting freedom of speech has proved to be a very difficult task,”

On its face this reportage the Attorney General seems to be less than supportive about a statutory tort of privacy.  It is frustrating that there is no reference as to which jurisdictions which have a statutory “method of suing for privacy” have failed to achieve the right balance with freedom of speech.

Mr Dreyfus said “In jurisdictions where they have had legislation I don’t think they have got the balance exactly right yet.” Mr Dreyfus’s remarks, in an interview with The Australian, provide the second indication within a week that the government could be seeking to address concerns about its approach to free speech.

This of course does not preclude the Government from introducing the statutory right to privacy and claiming it gets the balance right. If he is referring to legislation in continental Europe he is probably correct in his concerns, at least from a common law perspective. The UK does not have a statutory right to privacy but Article 8 and 10 does in effect Read the rest of this entry »

In FTC: Give mobile device users more privacy disclosures — or else the Los Angeles Times reports that the Federal Trade Commission has released guidelines for mobile privacy.  The FTC news release is found here and the guidelines are found here. The Washington Post in FTC speaks up on mobile privacy… covers the same issue.

The article provides:

 SAN FRANCISCO — The Federal Trade Commission called on the fast-growing mobile device marketplace to do a better job of alerting consumers to what the various market players do with their personal information.

It released guidelines for mobile privacy on Friday. The guidelines target Read the rest of this entry »

The Privacy Rights Clearing House performs the valuable task of advising on privacy issues, considering and acting on complaints and recording privacy breaches.

In 2013 alone the Clearing house recorded 27 breaches involving 22,031 records.  Those breaches are categorised and described Read the rest of this entry »

Wired reports in Brothel Patrons Have No Legal Expectation of Privacy, Judge Rules that a Maine Judge dismissed privacy related charges against an accused who secretly filmed illicit sexual encounters in a makeshift brothel he allegedly operated.

It provides:

Brothel patrons have no expectation of privacy, a Maine judge has ruled Read the rest of this entry »

On 22 January 2013 the Victorian Privacy Commissioner announced 28 January 2013 as Data Privacy Day.

In a press release, Data Privacy Day, January 28 2013 Respecting Privacy, Safeguarding Data and Enabling Trust, the Privacy Commissioner stated:

Data Privacy Day is held on January 28th every year. This international effort to empower people to protect their privacy and control their digital footprint serves to remind people that the protection of privacy and data is everyone’s priority. As a Data Privacy Day Champion, Privacy Victoria is reminding people that the privacy of personal information is important and it should be respected.
Acting Victorian Privacy Commissioner Dr Anthony Bendall says, “In our online world, data flows freely from person to person, and between people and government and other organisations. Information about people has to travel and be shared electronically for a healthy society and economy, and for healthy relationships between people, governments and business. But this information also needs to be protected so that the people who need to see and use the information are the only ones who see and use it.”
You have privacy responsibilities
“All of us – from home computer users to government organisations and the largest businesses – need to be aware of the personal and private data others have entrusted to us and remain vigilant and proactive about protecting it.”
“Protecting your own privacy Read the rest of this entry »

David Penberthy in Censorious laws treat us all like children is the latest in a long line of members of the Fourth Estate sounding the alarm about a statutory right to privacy.  That perhaps is a tad unfair.  The article deals with a range of other “threats” to the reportage, more real than the illusory danger of a statutory right of privacy.  To wit the consolidation of the anti discrimination Act. Vilification legislation is, and has always been, bad public policy, poorly drafted and unevenly enforced.  It achieves little beyond chilling speech. It does not change malefactors’ views.  It puts the court’s in the invidious of having to assess what is objectionable speech and what is legitimate public debate, what is orthodoxy and whether dissent is appropriately stated.  The legislation should be overhauled at minimum or preferably repealed.

A statutory right to privacy should not chill speech, particularly commentary, if drafted properly.  In any event, notwithstanding the commentary, it does not exist solely in the space of reportage nor is its focus or underlying rationale to limiting what can be covered or how it may be covered.

The article provides (with commentary):

It was one of the most confronting Australian news images of 2012. A little boy holding a placard reading “Behead all those who insult the Prophet”, standing among the hysterical crowd at the Sydney protests against an obscure art-house film ridiculing Mohammed.

The discussion inspired by that image was impassioned. The child and, particularly, his parents were held up as evidence that something was seriously wrong within sections of our multicultural society.

The heated nature of the discussion was not surprising at all, even if some of it was unpleasantly over-the-top. But in a free society such as ours it was still a conversation worth having.

You can understand that the family in question felt distressed. Yet it was their own abysmal actions, in using their kid as the tiny front man for the most sickening political demand, which turned them and their little boy into public figures, and valid subjects for public debate. If they didn’t want to face this kind of distress they should probably have ditched their stupid sign and stayed home and let their son play with his Lego, rather than parade him about in Martin Place demanding beheadings.

I write about this issue not to dredge it up again but to consider how it would have been reported and how it could have been discussed under the changes surrounding media conduct and public conversation being considered by the Gillard Government. From what has been revealed by the Government so far, and from what the Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is also believed to have up his sleeve, it is doubtful that a story such as this one could have been reported at all.

On privacy grounds I doubt Mr Penberthy is correct.  Privacy laws in the UK (the closest equivalent in the current debate) do not prohibit coverage of demonstrations including those involving children.  The application of privacy law in the UK relating to children has been specific and limited.

In addition, Read the rest of this entry »

The 28th January 2013 is Data Privacy Day.  In recognition of that, or because it is as good a pretext as any other and better than most the Commonwealth Privacy Commissioner has issued a media release about privacy in 2013. It is found here.

It provides:

Australian Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim is advising Australians that 2013 is shaping up to be the biggest year for privacy in over 20 years. In recognition of Data Privacy Day, held on 28 January 2013, Mr Pilgrim is reminding Australians to take steps to protect their privacy and control their digital footprint.

‘In the age of big data, social media and cloud computing, it is increasingly important that people think about the concept of privacy and what it means to them. I am concerned that people aren’t considering the potential risks of disclosing too much personal information, particularly when engaging online,’ Mr Pilgrim said.

‘Organisations should also be vigilant about privacy, in particular, the protection of personal information entrusted to them by their customers. With regular reports of data breaches and their impact on individuals as well as on business reputation, the importance of getting privacy right cannot be underestimated.’

2013 will be a significant year for businesses and government agencies as they prepare for major changes to the Privacy Act 1988. The changes include the introduction of a single set of Australia Privacy Principles, new credit reporting laws, and enhanced enforcement powers for the Privacy Commissioner to promote, and where necessary, enforce privacy compliance.

‘The new laws are an important Read the rest of this entry »

In Lawmaker questions Disney’s plan for wristband data the issue of data collection and tracking is brought into sharp relief.  Disney plans to use the computer chips in “MagicBands” (it always amazes how the spin merchants brand potentially hideous privacy destroying technology in such sunny terms) to gather marketing data on children.

It provides:

‘MagicBands’ to be used by Walt Disney World parkgoers will contain computer chips that a congressman fears could be used to gather marketing data on children. Disney says wristbands will be optional.

A congressman from Massachusetts raised questions Thursday about how Walt Disney Co. will use information it collects when it gives parkgoers new wristbands embedded with computer chips.

Edward J. Markey (D-Mass), who co-chairs a congressional panel on privacy, asked Walt Disney Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Robert A. Iger in a letter what information the park will collect with the so-called MagicBand and how it will be used.

“Widespread use of MagicBand bracelets by park guests could dramatically increase the personal data Disney can collect about its guests Read the rest of this entry »

The Washington Post reports in Obama administration updates medical privacy safeguards and creates new rights for consumers on a strengthening of medical privacy rules.

It provides:

WASHINGTON — Those medical privacy rules you run into at hospitals, pharmacies and in your own doctor’s office are getting an update.

Regulations unveiled this week by the Obama administration create new information rights that should make life easier for consumers. They also tighten restrictions on medical service providers trying to use patient information for marketing, and they greatly expand the list of businesses that can be punished for unauthorized disclosures.

“The government has taken pretty dramatic steps to strengthen privacy protections that Read the rest of this entry »

In the Age today in Australians most vulnerable to virtual stalkers the issue of tracking software and privacy is covered with reference to a report from the Centre for Internet Safety, Taming the Cookie Monster.

The article provides:

Australians are among the world’s heaviest internet users but also the most exposed to being tracked online by companies after personal information, a report warns.

The report by the Centre For Internet Safety, associated with the University of Canberra, calls for greater privacy protection for Australians through Read the rest of this entry »