PIAC recently made a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) in response to its inquiry into how the law should redress serious invasions of privacy in the digital age.
We regularly hear about new technologies that enable tracking or surveillance of other people and new forms of communication.
There are some statutory and common law protections of privacy, but there are substantial gaps in legal protection. There has been a lot of work already done by law reform commissions and others in Australia, recommending a statutory stand-alone cause of action to allow people to sue for a serious invasion of privacy.
PIAC’s submission addresses the detailed legal design of a statutory cause of action. It also discusses the necessity of balancing the value of privacy with other fundamental values such as freedom of expression.
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