The Human Technology Institute's submission to the Privacy Act Review Report.
HTI has made a submission to the Attorney-General Department’s consultation on the Privacy Act Review Report 2022 (the Review Report), strongly supporting the case for privacy reform.
Australia’s privacy law is no longer fit for purpose. Amid the rise of new and emerging data-driven technologies such as AI, there is increasing community concern regarding how personal information is being used.
There is also a growing expectation that the Government will act to strengthen regulation to ensure that Australians, and our economy, benefit from positive technological innovations while being protected from harm.
In its submission, HTI broadly supports the Review Report’s combination of proposals that, if implemented, will empower individuals to manage the use of their personal information in certain circumstances, and impose additional obligations on entities to actively protect and manage risks associated with their use of personal information.
HTI also focuses especially on the need to reform Australian law relating to facial recognition and other biometric technologies. HTI calls on the Government to implement the recommendations from its September 2022 report, Facial recognition technology: Towards a Model Law. Regulation of facial recognition technology is urgently needed in order to address the risks of harm associated with its use, while encouraging positive innovation.