Western Australia’s police are now scanning faces in real time. The technology works – roughly. The laws to govern it do not yet exist.
Articles on Surveillance law
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Having to account for spending on covert operations would make it more difficult for intelligence agencies to abuse their powers.
At a time of increasing unease about the checks and balances for the use of AI, some African countries are spending more on harmful surveillance of their citizens.
The justice ministry had more than enough time to make the law constitutional. Failure to do so is an indictment on its leadership in the process.
The government faces legal restrictions on how much personal information it can gather on citizens, but the law is largely silent on agencies purchasing the data from commercial brokers.
Following a privacy policy change in 2016, Google has collected users’ data from third-party websites and apps. The ACCC argues users were misled into signing away their privacy.
Darwin is one of the aspiring ‘smart cities’ that is adopting Chinese technology that can identify and track individuals. Add changes in Australian law, and we have the makings of a surveillance state.
Some family members of aged care residents have resorted to hidden cameras to detect abuse and protect loved ones. But it’s legally murky and erodes the privacy of the resident, staff and visitors.
Inaudible sounds are being used to transmit data from our devices. While not new technology, these ultrasonic beacons may be in breach of laws regarding surveillance devices.
The government’s Snoopers’ Charter didn’t permit blanket indiscriminate data retention, the Court of Appeal recently ruled. I strongly disagree.
The Snooper’s Charter has cleared parliament, but there might still be a way to stop the government collecting all our internet histories.
The use of surveillance cameras raises difficult issues for the law in balancing privacy with exposure that is in the public interest – and perhaps it’s time that balance was reviewed.
Top contributors
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Professor of Digital Society, University of Glasgow
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Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Canberra
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Lecturer in Information Technology, Intellectual Property and Media Law, University of East Anglia
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Lecturer, Adelaide University
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Affiliated Faculty Member, Institute for Computational and Data Sciences, Penn State
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Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Macquarie University
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University of Southampton
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Digital Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies
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Associate Professor, Faculty of Law & Justice; Lead, UNSW Public Interest Law & Tech Initiative, UNSW
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Emeritus Professor in Law and Criminal Justice, Adelaide University
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Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Applied Ethics and CyberSecurity, Griffith University