The terror attack in New Zealand a few weeks ago has created shock waves, enough for all countries to take notice of the significance of privacy laws.
Hate posts on social media are driving negative emotions and actions, and governments are becoming increasingly conscious of the impact that even tech giants like Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc’s Google have in this environment of distrust.
The Australian PM, speaking about the dangerous situations that social media posts can create, has maintained that even these giants will face penalties if they breach privacy laws, under the Australian privacy law plan. The Australian PM said in a statement that security of personal information would be taken very seriously.
The Australian Government will introduce various measures to ensure adequate penal measures- fine for breaches, strengthening of disclosure policies and empowering of its privacy regulator, to enable a crackdown on data misuse. The plan comes into consideration amid mounting pressure on big media brands to remove offensive content from social media after last week’s attack in New Zealand.
“They need to stop hate content, and they need to do the right thing with people’s information,” PM Scott Morrison is reported to have said in a statement.
Under the law, the measures will increase the penalty for severe or repeated data-breaches from $1.49 million to $10 million. Companies may face fines up to 3 times the value of any benefit gained or 10% of the company’s annual domestic turnover. Social media will also need to become more discreet on personal data sharing. Tighter rules will be enforced for protecting the personal information of children and vulnerable groups.
In the process of ensuring better personal data security, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner will also soon have new powers to issue infringement notices to uncooperative parties in cases of minor breaches. To give the regulator’s teeth, Australia’s federal budget that is expected to be out next week will provide the regulator with an A$25 million funding boost over three years. This should enable the authority to investigate breaches and oversee online privacy rules, better than before. Clear amendments to the Privacy Act will drive these policies and make them more foolproof.
The relevant Legislation will be ready and drafted for consultation in the second half of 2019, reports say.
