The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
("OAIC") last week released the results
of a privacy sweep on websites most used by Australians.
The sweep involved the OAIC reviewing the content of almost 50
of the most popular websites in Australia. Results were measured
against the new reforms to the Privacy Act that comes into effect
on 12 March 2014. The privacy policies were evaluated on
readability, relevance and accessibility.
On announcing the results, the Privacy Commissioner Mr Timothy
Pilgrim expressed concern that 83% of the sites had one or more
issues in the following areas: 'easy to find', 'easy to
read', 'contacts for further information',
'relevance and length'. The Commissioner also noted that
overall policies were too long, complex and difficult for people to
understand.
