The Australian Privacy Foundation Newsletter of 4 May 2024 APF Board members continue their efforts to influence policy in privacy-sensitive ways. The load continues to be high, and we need more contributors. That way we can deepen, but also to diversify, the insights that we bring to environmental scanning, evidence-gathering, analysis and the presentation of… Read More
Digital ‘death knocks’: is it fair game for journalists to mine social media profiles of victims and their families?
Alysson Watson, Associate lecturer in journalism, University of Newcastle The family of Ash Good, one of the Bondi stabbing victims and the mother of the nine-month-baby who was also stabbed, issued a plea overnight for media to stop reproducing photos of Ash, her partner and their baby without consent. Good, 38, was an osteopath who… Read More
Your face for sale: anyone can legally gather and market your facial data without explicit consent
Margarita Vladimirova, PhD in Privacy Law and Facial Recognition Technology, Deakin University The morning started with a message from a friend: “I used your photos to train my local version of Midjourney. I hope you don’t mind”, followed up with generated pictures of me wearing a flirty steampunk costume. I did in fact mind. I… Read More
70% of Australians don’t feel in control of their data as companies hide behind meaningless privacy terms
Katharine Kemp, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney Australian consumers don’t understand how companies – including data brokers – track, target and profile them. This is revealed in new research on consumer understanding of privacy terms, released by the non-profit Consumer Policy Research Centre and UNSW Sydney today. Our report also reveals… Read More
For domestic violence victim-survivors, a data or privacy breach can be extraordinarily dangerous
A suite of recent cybersecurity data breaches highlight an urgent need to overhaul how companies and government agencies handle our data. But these incidents pose particular risks to victim-survivors of domestic violence. The onus is on service providers – such as utilities, telcos, internet companies and government agencies – to ensure they don’t risk the safety of their most vulnerable customers by being careless with their data. Read More
Surfveillance: Swellnet’s SurfCam at Winki Pop
In collaboration with the SurfRider Foundation Surf Coast Branch, Australian Privacy Foundation (APF) Vice-Chair Dr Monique Mann, and APF Surveillance Committee member Dr Ian Warren, have prepared a report that examines a SurfCam that is owned and operated by Swellnet PTY LTD, and is fixed to a private residence on the cliffs overlooking the Bells Beach Surfing Recreational Reserve (BBSRR) on the Surf Coast of Victoria. SurfCams provide surfers with the ability to remotely view surfing conditions and decide whether, when, and where to go surfing. They have the potential to create impacts across social, environmental, economic, and human rights domains. This analysis shows where legal and regulatory reform could occur to regulate the surveillance of public land for private commercial gain. We outline recommendations and proposals for removal of the camera, regulatory reform, and future research. Read More
APF’s Occasional Newsletter – July 2023
APF continues its work influencing policy wherever it can. We seek suitable balances between the privacy interest, on the one hand, and other needs of individuals, communities and society as a whole. However, APF needs your assistance to maintain its momentum. Renewing your membership is helpful. To renew, direct deposit to the APF bank account… Read More
Popular fertility apps are engaging in widespread misuse of data, including on sex, periods and pregnancy
Fertility apps collect deeply sensitive data about consumers’ sex lives, health, emotional states and menstrual cycles. And many of them are intended for use by children as young as 13. An analysis by UNSW’s Katharine Kemp has uncovered a number of concerning practices by these apps including: confusing and misleading privacy messages, a lack of choice in how data are used, inadequate de-identification measures when data are shared with other organisations, and retention of data for years even after a consumer stops using the app, exposing them to unnecessary risk from potential data breaches. Read More
Proposed privacy reforms could help Australia play catch-up with other nations. But they fail to tackle targeted ads
In the recently released Privacy Act Review Report, the Attorney-General’s Department makes numerous important proposals that could see the legislation, enacted in 1988, begin to catch up to leading privacy laws globally. However, the report’s proposals on targeted advertising don’t properly address the power imbalance between companies and consumers. Instead, they largely accept a status quo that sacrifices consumer privacy to the demands of online targeted ad businesses. Read More
Government’s privacy review has some strong recommendations – now we really need action
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus yesterday released a report with 30 proposals for updating Australia’s privacy regime. The proposals are practical, necessary and overdue. However, they are just proposals, which have been made several times in the past before disappearing into the “too hard basket” of the Australian, state and territory governments.
We can expect to see lots of noise about specific proposals and hope the Albanese government (copied by state/territory counterparts) gives us the legislation we need. Read More