Greenleaf, Graham --- "Private parts" [1997] PrivLawPRpr 55; (1997) 4(5) Privacy Law & Policy Reporter 100

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• MALAYSIAN PRIVACY LAW
  
• PRIVACY HANDBOOK, RELEASE 7
  
• WEB ADVOCATES GO GLOBAL
  
• FORTHCOMING BOOKS
  
• QUEENSLAND FOI SITE
  

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Private parts

MALAYSIAN PRIVACY LAW

Malaysia has announced plans to enact a privacy law covering both the public and private sectors in March 1998, as part of its electronic commerce initiatives. It is expected that both automated and manual processing will be covered, and there will be an independent supervisory authority. Development of a privacy law is also in the early stages in Singapore.

PRIVACY HANDBOOK, RELEASE 7

The latest release of the Federal Privacy Handbook contains the Privacy Commissioner’s Plain English Guidelines to IPPs 8-11, the parts of the new Telecommunications Act affecting privacy, and a host of other legislative changes over the last year. The Handbook is now published by CCH Australia for the Commissioner, and two updates per year are promised. There is now a brief ‘Federal Privacy Update’ brochure with each release.

WEB ADVOCATES GO GLOBAL

The Global Internet Liberty Campaign (GILC) was formed at the annual meeting of the Internet Society in Montreal. Members of the coalition include the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Human Rights Watch, the Internet Society, Privacy International, the Association des Utilisateurs d’Internet, and other civil liberties and human rights organisations. GILC’s very informative web site is at http://www.gilc.org/

GILC’s statement of principles says that it advocates:

• Prohibiting prior censorship of on-line communication.
• Requiring that laws restricting the content of online speech distinguish between the liability of content providers and the liability of data carriers.
• Insisting that online free expression not be restricted by indirect means such as excessively restrictive governmental or private controls over computer hardware or software, telecommunications infrastructure, or other essential components of the Internet.
• Including citizens in the Global Information Infrastructure (GII) development process from countries that are currently unstable economically, have insufficient infrastructure, or lack sophisticated technology.
• Prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
• Ensuring that personal information generated on the GII for one purpose is not used for an unrelated purpose or disclosed without the person’s informed consent and enabling individuals to review personal information on the Internet and to correct inaccurate information.
• Allowing on line users to encrypt their communications and information without restriction.

They invite internet users from around the world to join GILC in this campaign.

FORTHCOMING BOOKS

New privacy books available from Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/) include:

• Fred H Cate Privacy in the Information Age Brookings Institution Press (US$13.56) ISBN: 0815713150; URL: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0815713150/e
• Mark A Rothstein Genetic Secrets: Protecting Privacy and Confidentiality in the Genetic Age, Yale Univ Press (US$40.00) ISBN: 0300072511; URL: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0300072511/e

QUEENSLAND FOI SITE

Queensland’s Information Commissioner has established an Internet web site which includes all formal decisions issued by the Commissioner as well as general information and guidance about Freedom of Information laws in Queensland. The address is http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/infocomm