April 13, 2012
The Sydney Morning Herald has a very interesting article titled Email snooping IT admins like ‘Dracula in charge of the blood bank’.
It provides:
About 40 per cent of IT administrators go snooping Read the rest of this entry »
The Information Commissioner has released a resource paper regarding Internal Review for agencies considering a Freedom of Information review. It is found here.
It is a useful recap of the relevant law and what the Commissioner correctly regards as good practice.
April 12, 2012
Today Justice Beach, in Barrow v McLernon & Anor [2012] VSC 134 handed down a very interesting and useful decision regarding discovery and the operation of section 27 of the Civil Procedure Act. It is an appeal from a decision of an Associate Justice.
The Plaintiff is suing Hugh McLernon and IMF (Australia) Limited for defamation arising out of the publication on 30 May 2011 of an email and two pdf attachments [1]. The Plaintiff wishes to use documents discovered in this proceeding in support of issuing other proceedings, also a cause of action in defamation [2]. Five documents discovered constitute Read the rest of this entry »
April 10, 2012
Recent articles in the Economist,Spies, lies and the internet, and Read the rest of this entry »
April 1, 2012
The Economist has a published a fantastic article titled I spy, with my big eye on CCTV and facial recognition technology and the ever present associated privacy issues.
It provides:
WELCOME to China, the land of video surveillance. Guangdong province boasts over 1m cameras. In 2010 the city of Chongqing, governed by the now-disgraced Bo Xilai, ordered 500,000. Other provinces have hundreds of thousands, according to Human Rights in China, an NGO. Video surveillance constitutes over half the country’s huge security industry, and is expected to reach 500 billion yuan ($79 billion) in 2015. China will soon overtake Britain, with around 3m cameras, as the capital of video surveillance.
Yet China is far from alone. In many democracies surveillance cameras are multiplying, too. And face-recognition technology is proving a wonder tool for both governments and marketers.
A jail in Alabama uses it to Read the rest of this entry »
March 30, 2012
The Privacy Commissioner has released media statement announcing that the New Zealand Government will update the Privacy Act.
The press release provides:
“Things have changed enormously since the Privacy Act was passed nearly twenty years ago,” said Ms Shroff. “Privacy is as important to people as it’s ever been. But the Act doesn’t always give people the protection they expect and need, particularly in the context of modern technology. And it needs to do more to support businesses.
“The need for reform is urgent. We Read the rest of this entry »
Today the Attorney General announced a reference to the ALRC for an inquiryt into the operation of copyright exceptions for public comment. The draft terms of reference are found here. The submissions close on 27 April 2012.
The press release provides:
Attorney-General Nicola Roxon said the ALRC will consider whether the exceptions in the Federal Copyright Act are adequate and appropriate in the digital environment.
The draft terms of reference reflect the fact that technology is constantly evolving and testing the boundaries of copyright law Ms Roxon said.
In our fast changing, technologically driven world, it important to ensure our copyright laws are keeping pace with change and able to respond to future challenges.
We want to ensure this review Read the rest of this entry »
March 26, 2012
A very interesting article in the Fairfax Press today about Google and others loosening restrictuions on the use of material. In Web giants loosen fine print to allow government ‘fishing expeditions’ for your data David Vaile is interviewed about this situation. The story provides:
A loosening of words Read the rest of this entry »
A security research company, Symantec, has produced a report stating that 36 UK firms spanning 11 different industries had experienced data breaches during 2011 that resulted in them notifying the Information Commissioner and affected customers. The report is found here.
The data breaches were caused on 36% of occasions by Read the rest of this entry »
March 22, 2012
The Attorney General has released a discussion paper on the review of Australian Contract Law. The paper is found here.
The questions posed in the paper are:
Question 1
What are the main problems Read the rest of this entry »