Senator Eric Abetz, the Special Minister of State, issued a statement this morning saying he "could see merit" in a recommendation by the Privacy Commissioner -- who completed a review of the private sector provisions of the Privacy Act 1988 several weeks ago -- for a wider review of privacy legislation. Senator Abetz pointed out that paper-based systems used by people to interact with government when the legislation was devised had largely been replaced by electronic storage and the Internet.
A spokesperson for the Minister said a final decision on whether a wider review would be conducted lay with the Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, who released commissioner Karen Curtis' report on 18 May. A spokesperson for Ruddock said the government was still considering the 80-odd recommendations made by Curtis and would "respond accordingly".
Curtis said in a statement welcoming Ruddock's release of her report her suggestions included bringing "some sectors that handle large volumes of personal information, such as Internet service providers" under the provisions.
She also said the issue of "privacy and new technologies" warranted further debate, with her main recommendation being that "they should be considered in the context of a wider review of the Privacy Act".
Curtis also said consumer control over their personal information should be strengthened, "particularly in relation to information collected about them indirectly or used or disclosed for other purposes such as direct marketing".
Autor: Iain Ferguson
Quelle: ZDNet, 06.06.2005
