Scott2010au
According to a new international privacy report, governments around the world are increasingly invading the privacy of citizens with surveillance, identification systems and archiving of private data -- and Australia is no exception.
Driven by concern over immigration and border control, countries have been quick to implement database, identity, and fingerprinting systems, according to the 2007 International Privacy Ranking report.
There was also an increase in the trend of governments archiving data on the geographic, communications, and financial records of citizens, as well as enacting legislation intended to increase their reach into individuals' private lives, the report found.
"At the same time, technological advances, technology standards, interoperability between information systems, and the globalisation of information have placed extraordinary pressure on the few remaining privacy safeguards," the report says. "The effect of these developments has been to create surveillance societies that nurture hostile environments for privacy."
Specifically, governments have implemented or proposed use of fingerprint and iris-scanning biometrics, real-time tracking and monitoring through communications channels, geographic vehicle and mobile phone tracing, national DNA databases, global information-sharing agreements, and the elimination of anonymity in cyberspace.
The lowest ranking countries in terms of privacy protections continue to be Malaysia, Russia, and China, with Greece, Romania, and Canada ranked highest.
Australia is far from having a good record with privacy, achieving the second lowest ranking band -- "systematic failure to uphold safeguards". Reasons for the ranking included data breaches occurring in organisations such as the tax office, child support agency, and even amongst the police; expanded surveillance powers; and de-identified medical data being approved by the Privacy Commissioner for sale to pharmaceutical companies, the report said.
The report identifies Australia's constitutional protection of privacy as particularly bad, as well as its handling of border issues and surveillance of movement, medical and financial data.
In terms of statutory protections and privacy enforcement, the US was deemed the worst country in the "democratic world" and is outranked by both India and the Philippines on overall privacy protection. The US has fallen into the "black" category reserved for countries with "endemic surveillance".
The UK was the worst ranked country in the EU, particularly with regard to surveillance. Specifically, England and Wales continue to spread surveillance policies, including CCTV, ID and data sharing, and road user tracking, according to the report.
The report, prepared by Privacy International and the Electronic Privacy Information Centre, is based on EPIC's annual Privacy and Human Rights survey, an 1,100 page report that covers 75 countries.
Suzanne Tindal of ZDNet Australia contributed to this article.
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