Dear APF Members,We’re pleased to pass on some details of recent work the APF has been undertaking, as well as changes to our Board and Advisory and Patrons Panel.Policy WorkThe APF has continued its efforts to influence policy decisions relevant to privacy, including robo-goverment and the social welfare system, the Productivity Commission’s proposals re open… Read More
It’s time for third-party data brokers to emerge from the shadows
Sacha Molitorisz, University of Technology Sydney Facebook announced last week it would discontinue the partner programs that allow advertisers to use third-party data from companies such as Acxiom, Experian and Quantium to target users. Graham Mudd, Facebook’s product marketing director, said in a statement: We want to let advertisers know that we will be shutting… Read More
MEDIA RELEASE: Time To Stop The Privacy Trainwrecks
News that Facebook has given away personal information about many Australians is a reminder that we need businesses, governments and political parties to be accountable. Australians need better privacy protection. They can get that without a lot of pain, money or fuss. The Australian Privacy Foundation – on behalf of all Australians – calls on… Read More
Statement to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement
APF Vice Chair / Co-Chair of Surveillance Committee Dr Adam Molnar, and Co-Chair Surveillance Committee Dr Monique Mann recently gave evidence at the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Law Enforcement Inquiry on the impact of new and emerging information and communications technology. They emphasized the importance of not undermining or weakening encryption, and you can sign… Read More
It’s impossible for Facebook users to protect themselves from data exploitation
David Glance, University of Western Australia The London-based data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica has been accused of using illegally gathered information from more than 50 million Facebook users to support Donald Trump’s US presidential campaign. Facebook has suspended the accounts of the firm along with Cambridge University academic Aleksandr Kogan and consultant-turned-whistle-blower Christopher Wylie, who… Read More
Australia should strengthen its privacy laws and remove exemptions for politicians
David Vaile, UNSW As revelations continue to unfold about the misuse of personal data by Cambridge Analytica, many Australians are only just learning that Australian politicians have given themselves a free kick to bypass privacy laws. Indeed, Australian data privacy laws are generally weak when compared with those in the United States, the United Kingdom… Read More
MEDIA RELEASE: Australian Digital Rights Organisations Call For Politicians To Clarify Their Dealings With Cambridge Analytica
JOINT MEDIA RELEASE BY ELECTRONIC FRONTIERS AUSTRALIA, FUTURE WISE, AUSTRALIAN PRIVACY FOUNDATION AND DIGITAL RIGHTS WATCHIn light of the revelations that Cambridge Analytica has reportedly misused the data of over 50 million people on Facebook, Australia’s leading digital and civil rights advocates call on all Australian governments and political parties to categorically answer the following… Read More
APF response to statement from QLD Police Minister
In response to QLD Police Minister’s media release made to the ABC on 15/03/18 and yet to be made available on line, the APF would like to respond: The APF are disappointed that the QLD Police Minister chose not to respond to Dr Mann’s comments in person and take up the substance of the issues… Read More
MEDIA RELEASE: NSW Tribunal finds that the Opal card breaches privacy
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
Close up: the government’s facial recognition plan could reveal more than just your identity
Jake Goldenfein, Swinburne University of Technology A Bill to set up the federal government’s biometric identity system is currently going through Parliament. But there are concerns over just how much information the system would be allowed to gather, and how that might be used to establish more than just the identity of a person. Strongly… Read More