Big tech companies are urging that AI be implemented immediately, with no provision for citizens’ safety. This has also caused a new sense of frustration for the country’s new privacy commissioner.
Reforms to strengthen privacy enforcement
Commissioner Carly Kind told The Sunday Times she was not scared of an AI future but was concerned about the speed at which the fast-evolving technology is being used. She added that it would take time to understand AI’s implications and legislate against its misuse. Kind, who has vast experience in AI, is frustrated that there’s a sense of urgency for deployment, which seems to override a cautionary approach.
Kind, who took up the role earlier this year, is the first standalone privacy commissioner after the Albanese government last year wound back cuts imposed under the Abbott government as part of its move to bolster the Office of the Australian Information Commission, which was set up with three commissioners to oversee privacy, information, and freedom-of-information. The privacy commissioner has the power to investigate serious privacy breaches. Still, the threshold is so high the office has launched only two civil penalty proceedings against organizations in the past nine years.
The reforms to the Privacy Act, which will be introduced into parliament next month by the Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus, will empower the Privacy Commission in its efforts to crack down on breaches.
The need for a cautious AI approach
Under existing law, the commissioner can only file legal action if there is a “serious or repeated interference.” Still, the new low-tier and mid-tier civil penalty provisions will probably mean more non-serious and one-off breach enforcement. Kind said the reforms enable a much more front-footed approach to addressing the most serious and harmful privacy invasions. The Privacy Act is a principle-based framework, but some parts are outdated and haven’t kept pace with our current development.
Dreyfus agreed and committed to 38 of the 116 recommendations, agreed in principle to 68, and “noted 10”. The details of the new bill have yet to be finalized. Still, it is likely to incorporate the 38 recommendations the government agreed to, such as giving Australians the right to sue for privacy invasions. In contrast, the government mulls over the rest of the recommendations. Small businesses have said they were most worried about the regulatory and monetary costs of being forced to comply with privacy rules. Still, Kind said good privacy practices were fundamental to a good business.
Keeping that data is one of the first lines of defense. If you don’t hold that data, you can’t lose that data. It is Kind’s first sit-down interview since taking up the position to mark Privacy Awareness Week. The theme for this year’s week is “powering up your privacy,” giving empowerment to people with their privacy rights online, even in this digital age with the advent of social media.
She assumed the role shortly after the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner announced that it was inquiring into how TikTok collects information to determine whether the social media giant, which is harvesting Australians’ data without consent, will have to be investigated further. Kind says the questions continued, and TikTok had been “forthcoming” with information. An inquiry is a step before a formal investigation is opened.
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