APF Newsletter 19 September 2021

The Australian Privacy Foundation enjoys the support of many leading Australians across many walks of life. We routinely draw attention to the standing of the APF’s Patrons and Advisory Panel members when we make submissions.
The APF’s policy positions have always been based on research and careful argument, and we believe that the quality of the Panel reinforces that positioning. We’re delighted to announce a tranche of new members of that Panel. Read More

I’d prefer an ankle tag: why home quarantine apps are a bad idea

South Australia has begun a trial of a new COVID app to monitor arrivals into the state. SA Premier Steven Marshall claimed “every South Australian should feel pretty proud that we are the national pilot for the home-based quarantine app”. But why are we developing such home-quarantine apps in the first place, when we already have a cheap technology to do this? If we want to monitor that people are at home (and that’s a big if), wouldn’t one of the ankle tags already used by our corrective services for home detention be much simpler, safer and more robust? There are many reasons to be concerned about home-quarantine apps. Read More

Police access to COVID check-in data is an affront to our privacy. We need stronger and more consistent rules in place

The Australian Information Commissioner this week called for a ban on police accessing QR code check-in data, unless for COVID-19 contact tracing purposes. State police have already accessed this data on at least six occasions for unrelated criminal investigations. We need cooperation and clarity regarding how COVID surveillance data is handled, to protect people’s privacy and maintain public trust in surveillance measures. We propose more detailed and consistent laws to be enacted throughout Australia, covering all COVID surveillance. Read More

MEDIA RELEASE: Banks can do better – Consumer groups make more than 100 recommendations to improve bank behaviour

A coalition of the country’s leading consumer organisations is calling on Australia’s major banks to make significant updates to their industry code to improve outcomes for customers. The Consumers’ Federation of Australia’s (CFA) submission of behalf of the coalition to the 2021 review of the Australian Banking Association (ABA) Banking Code of Practice (the Code) sets out over 100 recommendations. Read More

How one simple rule change could curb online retailers’ snooping on you

I spent last week studying the 26,000 words of privacy terms published by eBay and Amazon, trying to extract some straight answers, and comparing them to the privacy terms of other online marketplaces such as Kogan and Catch. The bad news is that none of the privacy terms analysed are good. Based on their published policies, there is no major online marketplace operating in Australia that sets a commendable standard for respecting consumers’ data privacy. Read More

APF’s Position on the 2021 Census

The APF has been buried in a large number of issues, and was unable to prioritise work on the Census during 2020-21. APF invested vast amounts of time in the lead-up to each of the ’06, ’11 and ’16 events. The impact we had was considerable in ’06, but has declined each time since. The simple fact is that the ABS has long since abandoned its once exemplary stand on privacy. It has now positioned itself as the operator of a centralised database on the whole population, expropriating data from many government agencies, retaining all Census and Survey data in identified form, and consolidating it all into a single, dense record. The National Health Survey has been incorporated into the 2021 Census for randomly selected households. Read More

Instagram’s privacy updates for kids are positive. But plans for an under-13s app means profits still take precedence

Facebook recently announced significant changes to Instagram for users aged under 16. New accounts will be private by default, and advertisers will be limited in how they can reach young people.
The new changes are long overdue and welcome. But Facebook’s commitment to childrens’ safety is still in question as it continues to develop a separate version of Instagram for kids aged under 13. Read More

Police debacle leaves the McGowan government battling to rebuild public trust in the SafeWA app

QR code contact-tracing apps are a crucial part of our defence against COVID-19. But their value depends on being widely used, which in turn means people using these apps need to be confident their data won’t be misused.
That’s why this week’s revelation that Western Australian police accessed data gathered using the SafeWA app are a serious concern. Read More