Stronger laws needed to protect privacy and prevent data harvesting
As more people and their personal data fall victim to increased data harvesting in Australia, the Human Rights Law Centre is calling on the Federal Government to embrace bold proposed reforms to better protect people’s right to privacy.
Two years after the review of the Privacy Act was announced and following extensive public consultation, in February the Attorney General’s Department proposed a suite of much-needed reforms to protect privacy in the digital age.
Key proposals include placing additional requirements on entities that handle people’s personal information, giving people more transparency and control over how and when their data is used for targeted advertising, and improving options for people to seek redress in situations where their privacy has been breached.
The Human Rights Law Centre welcomes the proposals to strengthen privacy protections in line with international standards and supports stronger protections against invasive targeting, and the introduction of a statutory privacy tort with appropriate safeguards.
The Human Rights Law Centre also supports enhancing the privacy regulator’s enforcement functions and information gathering powers, and establishing a federal Charter of Human Rights, would help Australia to strike the balance between the right to privacy and other human rights.
Scott Cosgriff, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre said:
"Technology should serve communities, not put people at risk. Australia’s existing privacy laws are out-of-date and fundamentally inadequate for protecting human rights in the digital age.
“As online business practices threaten to move further towards surveillance and intensive collection and retention of our personal information, the Albanese Government should embrace this opportunity to reclaim the right to privacy for people in Australia. In addition to updating the Privacy Act, the government should go further by protecting the right to privacy in a federal Charter of Human Rights.
"Giving people greater control over their own personal information will address the human rights risks posed by micro-targeted disinformation campaigns that can turbo-charge discrimination, facilitate political manipulation and distort public debate on matters of critical importance.
“With existing privacy laws so seriously out of date, the Albanese Government must stand its ground against the powerful interests that profit from invasive data practices online, and take action to protect people’s lives.”
Read the Human Rights Law Centre’s feedback on the Privacy Act review report.
Media contact:
Thomas Feng
Human Rights Law Centre
Media and Communications Manager 0431 285 275
thomas.feng@hrlc.org.au