Sam is a dedicated digital rights activist, privacy advocate and writer who regularly contributes to public debate on technology, power and human rights. She is currently undertaking a PhD at Monash University, researching the impact of emerging technologies on housing justice in Australia.
In response to the Optus data breach, the Attorney General introduced a bill to parliament to make changes to the Privacy Act. For more detail about the proposed changes in the Bill, read our explainer here.
In response to the Optus data breach, the Australian government has introduced a new bill to make changes to the Privacy Act.
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.
In early September it was reported that a high school in Sydney was scanning kids’ fingerprints to access the bathroom.
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.
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.