[LINK] Google sued by Safari user for bypassing privacy controls

[Roger Clarke]

At 20:06 -0800 18/2/12, Rick Welykochy wrote:
>Hrmm .... IANAL, but I would have thought that violating privacy laws
>is a criminal offense.

Not a chance.

In the US *or* in Australia, or even in the EU.

There are no offences, even of the misdemeanour variety.

There's (as yet) not even any civil right to sue.
(That's what the 'privacy cause of action' debate is about).

There's very little that the PC'er can do about that.

But what they *can* do is prevent complainants from getting to the AAT.

And that's precisely what the last 7 years' incumbents - Karen Curtis 
and Timothy Pilgrim - have been doing, in the process protecting 
government and business rather than the public.


In order to get the offences agenda off the ground, the APF has been 
arguing for criminalisation of the more extreme instances of 
negligence in relation to data security.  But so far, we've got too 
little traction.


>Solution: incarceration for those responsible.

Great!  Now yell it loudly, in every available venue!


-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/

Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
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Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Law               University of NSW
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University