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Australia is planning a criminal offense for the dissemination of personal information.
Australia plans to introduce new legislative measures aimed at prohibiting the public disclosure of personal data on the Internet, known as doxxing. A bill introduced in the federal parliament provides for a prison sentence of up to seven years for disseminating information with intent to cause harm.
The move was promised by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after an incident in February in which members of a private WhatsApp group made up of hundreds of Australian Jews were published online.
Attorney General Mark Dreyfus explained that the new measure will be part of broader reforms aimed at modernizing the Privacy Act, passed back in 1988, to bring it in line with the realities of the digital age. As part of these changes, published personal data such as names, addresses, and phone numbers will be protected by law, and malicious dissemination can result in penalties of up to six years in prison. In cases where the target is persons on the basis of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or other similar characteristics, the penalty is increased to seven years.
In addition, citizens will be given the right to file a claim for damages in the event of a serious violation of their privacy. The bill pays special attention to the protection of children. A privacy code for children will be developed that will impose obligations on social platforms and digital providers to provide additional protection for minors online.
The reform will be the first stage of the promised modernization of privacy legislation, but some issues, such as the exception for small businesses, have not yet been resolved and may be considered later.
Source
Australia plans to introduce new legislative measures aimed at prohibiting the public disclosure of personal data on the Internet, known as doxxing. A bill introduced in the federal parliament provides for a prison sentence of up to seven years for disseminating information with intent to cause harm.
The move was promised by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after an incident in February in which members of a private WhatsApp group made up of hundreds of Australian Jews were published online.
Attorney General Mark Dreyfus explained that the new measure will be part of broader reforms aimed at modernizing the Privacy Act, passed back in 1988, to bring it in line with the realities of the digital age. As part of these changes, published personal data such as names, addresses, and phone numbers will be protected by law, and malicious dissemination can result in penalties of up to six years in prison. In cases where the target is persons on the basis of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or other similar characteristics, the penalty is increased to seven years.
In addition, citizens will be given the right to file a claim for damages in the event of a serious violation of their privacy. The bill pays special attention to the protection of children. A privacy code for children will be developed that will impose obligations on social platforms and digital providers to provide additional protection for minors online.
The reform will be the first stage of the promised modernization of privacy legislation, but some issues, such as the exception for small businesses, have not yet been resolved and may be considered later.
Source
