Consumer and citizen groups have significant concerns that Google’s proposed takeover of wearables manufacturer Fitbit would be a game-changer not only for how people interact with the online world but also for digital and related health markets. Regulators around the world –in particular those concerned with antitrust compliance and data privacy –must therefore give it… Read More

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE BY ELECTRONIC FRONTIERS AUSTRALIA, FUTURE WISE, AND THE AUSTRALIAN PRIVACY FOUNDATIONEFA, Future Wise and APF today denounced the actions of HealthEngine and its doctor appointment booking system which has been sharing patient data with law firms, marketers, and other entities with the flimsiest pretense of patient consent. “If this ethically dubious behaviour… Read More

The Australian Privacy Foundation has long argued that the requirement for registration for concession Opal users is a breach of the privacy laws. All users of the public transport system in NSW should have the right to travel anonymously and not be tracked. A case was brought against Transport for NSW by Nigel Waters (life… Read More

Protection from public sector snoops is okay for people in Britain but not for Australians? That’s the question being asked by the Australian Privacy Foundation – the nation’s independent privacy advocate. For more than 30 years the Foundation has been fighting for a respectful privacy regime. Just because something is politically advantageous, administratively convenient or… Read More

There can be benefits from the ‘sharing’ (distribution) of health and other personal information  among health care professionals and researchers. Any such ‘sharing’ must, however, be based on an understanding of potential risks. It must only occur within an effective legal framework, and controls appropriate for those risks. A ‘Trust me, I’m from the government!’… Read More

APF says NO! Go NSW!The Australian Privacy Foundation (APF) advocates for the privacy of all Australians, whether from Dubbo, Darlinghurst, Dapto or Darwin. While we often have to draw critical attention to privacy problems, we like to give credit where it’s due: NSW parliament is contemplating a positive step that others should follow.State and Territory… Read More

The Australian Government is legislating to use your personal information to silence any dissent to its policies. It will be starting with veterans’ information if it passes the Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment (Digital Readiness and Other Measures) Bill 2016 (Cth).
Australian citizen have to deal with the national government. The young, old, unemployed, disabled or those who have served this country in the defence forces must provide their personal information to one or more government agencies. There is no choice: no information means no entitlements. If done properly it is a good thing and should harm no one. But it has to be done properly. Read More

Your privacy is being eroded by Big Brother and Big Sister day by day.
The Australian Privacy Foundation – the nation’s civil society privacy body – commends moves in Queensland and Tasmania to introduce human rights legislation.
The Foundation says, however, that the legislation in those states and the Commonwealth needs to have teeth if it is to meaningfully protect the privacy and other rights of all Australians. Read More

Centrelink has recently delegated decision-making about people’s entitlements to a computer.

And, surprise, surprise, neither the data nor the software are good enough to support the process.

As a result, thousands of people have received demands for copies of old documents, and have been wrongly subjected to ham-fisted actions by commercial debt-collectors. Read More