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ARTICLE · 20 APRIL 2011

The latest in online privacy

Marque Lawyers
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If there’s one thing we can learn from the recent string of celebrity nude photo scandals, it’s that many Australians struggle with privacy online. Rather than just telling Nick Reiwoldtto keep his panties on, the Senate’s Environment and Communications References Committee has been investigating and come up with some recommendations.

AustraliaPrivacy
Michael Bradley
Michael Bradley
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If there's one thing we can learn from the recent string of celebrity nude photo scandals, it's that many Australians struggle with privacy online. Rather than just telling Nick Reiwoldtto keep his panties on, the Senate's Environment and Communications References Committee has been investigating and come up with some recommendations.

The Committee calls for some far-reaching reforms; all businesses that touch the online space could be affected. Here are the big headlines and our view on their significance.

  1. Small business + large volume data = Privacy Act compliance (BAD NEWS)

    Most businesses with less than $3M turnover are excluded from the Privacy Act requirements. Currently, this exempts over 90% of Australian businesses from complying with the Act. The Committee recommends narrowing this exclusion, making small businesses holding substantial quantities of data subject to the Act. This will create a lot of pain.

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