[LINK] personally-held collections of personal data

[Roger Clarke]

At 21:28 +1100 22/3/13, Karl Auer wrote:
>There was an interesting question on a mailing list a couple of days
>ago. It resulted in a short blog entry of mine:
>    http://biplane.com.au/blog/?p=244
>  ... What responsibility do we have - legally, practically, 
>ethically - to people whose personal details we have collected as 
>private individuals?

Karl should be no more bashful than me about bashing important posts (:-)}

The clock's been ticking for a little while now.

6. Can Individuals Continue to Be Exempt?
http://www.rogerclarke.com/DV/ContactPITs.html#IE
>Private individuals who store data in a private capacity have always 
>been exempt [from data protection laws]. It would have seemed 
>extreme and unnecessary to regulate people's collection, storage, 
>use and disclosure of data about other people. ...
>What centralised address-book services highlight is that ... these 
>new services ... are facilitating, and encouraging, the escape of 
>the data into networks of people, devices and virtual data stores. 
>NSWPC (1977) recognised the potential for data held by individuals 
>to harbour threats to privacy. With advances in technology, that 
>potential has now come to fruition.
>  ... the disclosures involved in centrally-stored address-books and 
>'testimonials' throws into serious question the blanket exemption 
>from data protection laws of personal data in the possession of 
>private individuals.

That was February 2004.  Not quite a decade ago, but getting close.

Give it another decade, and the Privacy Commissioner will notice.

And another decade after that, maybe a Parliament somewhere near you.

-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/
			            
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Law               University of NSW
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University