Online Privacy

Australia’s Trust Exchange system offers greater convenience and security for everyday transactions. But the government must make sure it protects Australians’ privacy.

The new privacy act reform bill has some welcome amendments, but it doesn’t touch most of the substantive principles that were passed in 1988.

Human Rights Watch has sounded the alarm over Australian children’s images found in a huge data set used to train AI models. It could be a breach of our privacy law.

Congress is considering bills to protect kids online. Some of what’s in those bills could help, but some elements could be harmful.

Canada needs to take action immediately to protect children online from exposure to age-inappropriate material. More stringent age verification measures need to be in place.

Vlogging has emerged as a new source of intimate entertainment, and for creators, potential income. However, they also raise serious questions about exploitation and the privacy rights of children.

The online safety bill contains measures that appear to compel messaging services to break encryption.

Companies tend to focus on appeasing angry customers after a data breach. New research shows they may want to pay more attention to customers who are afraid to return to their site.

Montana has announced plans to ban the app from January 2024, making it a potential testing ground for a ‘TikTok-free’ America.

Whether or not Bill C-27 moves companies away from deceptive design in apps and websites depends on how, and if, the Canadian government holds companies accountable for their actions.

Twitter and Meta are looking to make money from protecting users’ identities. This raises questions about collective security, people understanding what they’re paying for and who remains vulnerable.

Many people have become resigned to the fact that tech companies collect our private data. But policymakers must do more to limit the amount of personal information corporations can collect.

School officials are becoming increasingly wary of TikTok amid concerns that the app poses a risk to student safety and privacy and makes the nation vulnerable to spies.

It’s pretty common to find people who are apathetic about their data being harvested and funnelled into unknown corners. But that’s usually because they don’t know what’s at stake.

Cookie notifications remind people that they are being tracked, which affects how people behave online.

There’s little transparency surrounding how insurance firms collect, analyse and use our personal data when they establish insurance costs.

Consumers should have more control over how online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon collect and use their data, according to a new ACCC report.

The ABC’s decision to force viewers to create accounts to watch shows online raises concerns over privacy.

A proposed online privacy code would give consumers more control over how tech companies collect and use their data

There is no major online marketplace operating in Australia that sets a commendable standard for respecting consumers’ data privacy. Letting customers opt out of data tracking would be a good start.

Have you ever been targeted with ads that are scarily specific to you, and wondered how the app or website could have known?

People have plenty of legitimate reasons to use encrypted communications platforms such as WhatsApp or Signal for their own security and privacy.

Apple’s latest iPhone operating system lets you opt out of having your online habits tracked by the apps you use. That’s a big part of Facebook’s business model, but don’t expect a privacy revolution.

Companies are allowed to track users as much as they like — as long as they spell it out in the fine print. But a ground-breaking Australian legal judgement should give them pause.

To deter Google and other big tech companies from misleading users about data collection, the Federal Court should impose heavy fines.