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Privacy

Yesterday

CCTV footage of Bunnings staff being attacked.

Bunnings defends facial recognition after privacy breach

The privacy commissioner rules Bunnings breached its customers’ privacy, but retailer says the technology was to protect staff and stop theft.

  • Paul Smith

This Month

Phil Thomson, co-founder and CEO of Auror a retail crime platform that watches over retailers like Woolworths and Bunnings.

Woolworths, Westpac funds back controversial $500m anti-crime start-up

Auror’s use of AI technology to help retailers track criminals led to an Information Commissioner investigation, but investors aren’t worried.

  • Paul Smith

October

Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind says giving ChatGPT personal information to generate tailored marketing or financial recommendations may be a breach of privacy laws.

Why you could be fined for using ChatGPT at work

Giving ChatGPT personal information to generate tailored marketing or financial recommendations may be a breach of privacy laws, the Privacy Commissioner says.

  • Tess Bennett
Small business want protection from Labor’s proposed overhaul of privacy laws.

Small business wants out of privacy laws as data breaches rise 215pc

The small business lobby is pushing to limit the reach of Labor’s overhaul of the Privacy Act to firms with annual turnover above $10 million, up from the current threshold of $3 million.

  • Tom Burton

September

Nick Humphrey has ambitious plans for Hamilton Locke’s growth.

Legal privilege an ‘attraction’ in law firm’s consulting play

HPX Group chief executive Nick Humphrey says rolling consulting services into a legal practice means clients have a better chance of taking advantage of legal privilege.

  • Maxim Shanahan
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Anna Johnston, Principal, Salinger Privacy

Hamilton Locke owner bets on privacy sector growth, inks acquisition

Legal outfit HPX Group has added Anna Johnston’s Salinger Privacy to its ever-expanding group.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
LinkedIn quietly uploaded a new privacy policy to use user data in AI training.

LinkedIn has (quietly) announced it scrapes your posts for AI

LinkedIn has quietly launched new policies outlining how it scrapes posts and personal data to train AI models. What you need to know (and how to turn it off).

  • Rachael Bolton
Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind: “The intention is absolutely to still pursue the big matters.”

Labor’s privacy reforms the ‘tip of the iceberg’

Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind is happy with a suite of new powers to hit companies with big fines for privacy breaches, but says she can’t pursue the vast majority of complaints.

  • Ronald Mizen
Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind.

Labor’s plan for protecting your privacy: hope the internet disappears

The Albanese government has squibbed at nearly 40 key privacy reforms and given in to an outdated argument that Australia is a nation of shopkeepers.

  • Tom Burton
Doxxers could face lengthy jail sentences.

Doxxers face years in prison under new privacy offences

The Albanese government’s new privacy laws make doxxing – maliciously revealing personal information – a crime, punishable by up to seven years in prison.

  • Sam Buckingham-Jones

August

Companies need to understand what they’re collecting.

Why Australian companies need to worry about a 36-year-old US law

Australian companies which have video available in the United States could be unknowingly exposed to privacy laws passed following a scandal about the publishing of a Supreme Court nominee’s mundane video store rental history.

  • Max Mason

July

‘We know nothing’: Media blasts information void in privacy reform

Uncertainty about the Albanese government’s new privacy laws threatens billions in advertising, with one data firm urging clients to pause online targeting.

  • Sam Buckingham-Jones
COSBOA CEO Luke Achterstraat is resisting the proposed changes.

Small firms fight push to force data-breach reporting

Before critical cabinet considerations of major privacy reforms, small business groups say now is not the right time to add further compliance costs.

  • Tom Burton

June

Medibank is facing increasing legal challenges related to a 2022 data breach.

Medibank faces maximum $21.5 trillion fine in new cyber hack case

The privacy watchdog alleges the private health insurer failed to protect the details of 9.7 million customers, under a law that provides for a penalty of $2.2 million for each breach.

  • Paul Smith
X had to shut down searches for “Taylor Swift” in January because the site was flooded with so many faked porn images of the singer.

Tough jail terms for deepfake porn peddlers under new laws

The creators and sharers of non-consensual sexually explicit material will face up to seven years’ jail under the new rules, which also put pressure on tech firms.

  • Paul Smith
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Adam Taras, with supervisor Dr Don Dansereau, completed the research as part of his Honours thesis.

Aussie experts can stop your smart-device cameras spying on you

When photos snapped by a robot vacuum cleaner of a woman on the toilet went viral, the smart home sector knew it had a problem; Aussie academics claim to have solved it.

  • Alana Piper

May

Four listed fintechs allege major banks are conspiring against them by restricting access to crucial credit file data.

Four listed fintechs say they’ll be smashed by credit report rules

Plenti, MoneyMe, Harmoney and Wisr allege major banks are conspiring against them by restricting access to crucial credit file data they use to price loans.

  • James Eyers
Consumers are unable to exercise choice or meaningful control over how their data is shared and used. says ACCC consumer commissioner, Catriona Lowe.

Nearly 46 hours a month to read all privacy policies: study

Australians would spend nearly 46 hours a month reading all the privacy policies they encounter, according to a new report into data firms.

  • Tom Burton
TToby Norton-Smith says x15’s app will help people guard against the growing risk of identity theft.

CBA beats government to start-up opportunity from data breach scandals

Commonwealth Bank has a new app launching on Tuesday to warn citizens when their identity documents are in the wrong hands.

  • Paul Smith
Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind says digital marketing and advertising technologies are of major concern to regulators around the world.

How your electric car is watching your every move

Electric vehicle makers are among the worst offenders when it comes to protecting the personal data of their customers, and Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind is worried about it.

  • Tom Burton

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/privacy-60r