A general data protection regulation (GDPR) released on Thursday aims to safeguard customer data from cyber-attacks and serious breaches.
After the significant data breaches happened to massive companies Optus and Medibank, the Albanese government proposed a bill to levy an increase in penalties. Companies failing to safeguard their customers’ data privacy shall face inevitable consequences.
According to attorney Mark Dreyfus, the right to sue for privacy violations and European-style reforms like the right to be forgotten would be examined for the next round of legislation, even if the document does not represent official government policy.
A summary of the study, which was received in advance by Guardian Australia, urged for repealing the small business exemption from the Privacy Act, noting public expectations that small enterprises will keep it safe if given access to personal information.
However, to ensure that small enterprises can perform the said obligations, the government will first conduct an “impact analysis.”
Political parties must publish a privacy policy, and they must not target voters “based on sensitive information or traits” other than political ideas, membership in a political association, or union membership, in spite of proposals to repeal the privacy exemptions for political parties.
“There was very strong support for increasing the protections for personal information under the Act,” the review stated.
On Wednesday, Dreyfus said, “large-scale data breaches of 2022 were distressing for millions of Australians, with sensitive personal information being exposed to the risk of identity fraud and scams”.
“The Australian people rightly expect greater protections, transparency, and control over their personal information, and the release of this report begins the process of delivering on those expectations.
“The government is now seeking feedback on the 116 proposals in this report before deciding what further steps to take.”
The review emphasises the importance of geolocation tracking and consent in data collection and usage. It also urges the government to impose a criminal offence for malicious re-identification of de-identified data.
However, the Business Council of Australia suggests it is still “premature to introduce a tort that would often overlap with the protections of the Australian Privacy Principles.”
Media businesses that fear the right to sue will give the affluent and influential additional legal tools to restrict freedom of the press and may find privacy breaches contentious.
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