Latest Articles

Cheat sheet: getting privacy reform right

Posted on October 26, 2022 | in Articles

The Optus and Medibank breaches have demonstrated an urgent need for reform to the Privacy Act, but we need to make sure the changes are meaningful and address long-standing issues and are not just knee-jerk reactions. Below is a high-level overview of key areas for reform to the Privacy Act.

Campaign win: NSW School asked to halt kids' fingerprint scanning

Posted on October 17, 2022 | in Articles

In early September it was reported that a high school in Sydney was scanning kids’ fingerprints to access the bathroom.

Privacy reform is important

Posted on October 11, 2022 | in Articles

Digital Rights Watch is an Australian organisation that advocates for privacy, democracy, fairness and freedom in a digital age. We take a human rights approach to digital policy.

Submission: Online Safety draft Industry Codes

Posted on October 11, 2022 | in Submissions

In 2021 the Australian government passed the Online Safety Act. This law seeks to regulate a broad range of material and behaviour online, from online bullying and harassment and the spread of abhorrent violent material to accessing pornography online. We have previously written about our concerns regarding the Online Safety Act here.

Submission: Inquiry into the 2022 Federal Election

Posted on September 28, 2022 | in Submissions

The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters is conducting an inquiry into the conduct of the 2022 Federal Election.

Optus data breach shows need for stronger privacy laws

Posted on September 26, 2022 | in Articles , Media releases

Last week Optus announced what may be the largest data breach in Australian history, potentially exposing the personal information of almost 10 million people. Current and former Optus customers are at risk of their name, date of birth, phone number, email and physical address, passport number and drivers’ licence numbers becoming compromised.