Privacy Law Must Catch Up With Technology

“Technology is moving fast, and we need to ensure that our privacy is properly protected,” says Sir Geoffrey Palmer, President of the Law Commission.

“Our laws on this are currently very patchy. It is an offence to record a private conversation and to get unauthorised access to someone’s computer, but not to secretly film them or use a device to track them” said Sir Geoffrey. “The law needs to catch up”.

The Law Commission today issued a final report, “Invasion of Privacy: Penalties and Remedies” which recommends law changes to fill those gaps. It recommends that it should be an offence to trespass on someone’s property to install a surveillance device, to film inside someone’s dwelling without their consent and to install or use a tracking device to track someone without their consent.

“The Police need to get a warrant to do most of these things. It seems bizarre that the law does not prohibit other people doing them,” Sir Geoffrey said. Several Australian states now have similar laws.

The Report targets only the most objectionable types of surveillance: it does not, for example, stop people filming in public, and does not attempt to limit the use of closed circuit television. There are also appropriate exceptions and defences to ensure that the new laws are not so tight that they harm other interests such as health and safety and the detection of crime.

“We also recommend a few extensions to the Harassment Act,” said Geoffrey.

“This will enable the Court to make a restraining order if someone is kept under surveillance in such a way as to cause distress.”

The Report also looks at whether changes should be made to the present law which enables a person to sue someone who publishes private facts about them. It recommends that the law which is currently being applied and developed by the courts is sufficient.

“This is a case where the common law should be allowed to develop.”

“This Report does not say much about the Privacy Act”, said Sir Geoffrey. “We shall in a few days be publishing an Issues Paper which looks closely at that Act and asks questions about whether it needs to be changed.”

ENDS

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