Internet Society of Australia
A Chapter of the Internet Society
ABN 36 076 406 801
NEWS RELEASE Internet Society of Australia (ISOC-AU) 2000/04 The Internet is for Everyone! 17 April 2000 ISOC-AU SAYS PRIVACY LEGISLATION TOO WEAK New privacy legislation introduced to the Federal Parliament is not sufficient to give Internet users confidence, Mr Tony Hill, Executive Director of the Internet Society of Australia, stated today. "We are already seeing that people are wary of making purchases over the Internet, with only around 6% of Australian adults using the Internet for purchases or orders according the Australian Bureau of Statistics. "We welcome the Government's recognition of the need for privacy legislation to build trust, but stronger privacy protection is needed. "We join with other organizations in calling on the government to strengthen the legislation so as to provide a solid foundation for growth of ecommerce. "Australia needs to move quickly to establish its place in the so- called 'new economy' and we are already seeing pressure on the value of the Australian dollar because of perceptions that we are not keeping up. The current draft legislation has significant exemptions that should be tightened before Internet users can have confidence, including: - exemption of organisations with turnover of less than $3 million a year - exemption of exchange of information between multiple companies in a conglomerate - exemption of political parties - different treatment of different industries - allowing unsolicited email (or spam) with an 'opt-out' provision - weak protection for information already collected "These exemptions will leave consumers and Internet users confused about their privacy rights," Mr Hill said. "For instance, companies with a turnover of less than $3 million could secretly track web surfing by Internet users without breaching the legislation. "The legislation does not fully recognise the problem of spam, or unsolicited email. "Many Internet users in Australia pay to receive email through download and telephony fees in contrast to ordinary postal mail which is relatively expensive for senders and free for recipients. "The online citizen requires stronger protections from expensive and unsolicited rubbish. "ISOC-AU congratulates the Federal Privacy Commissioner for calling for removal of the exemption for political parties. However, the Commissioner should also consider the effects of the other exemptions on Internet use. "The government should give the Privacy Commissioner full powers to enforce privacy rights similar to those available to Professor Fels of the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission in the areas of pricing and competition." Contact: Mr Tony Hill, 0412 128 755, ed@isoc-au.org.au Mr Leni Mayo, 0418 377 937, media@isoc-au.org.au