Speaking in Brisbane today, Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICA) President Patrick Holberg
said that invasion of privacy through the use and distribution of information collected over
the Internet is one of the biggest challenges thrown up by widespread access to the Web.
According to Holberg, 85% of the top 200 Australian Websites seek personal information and only
6% have a privacy policy that meets the Australian Privacy Commission's principles.
In conjunction with the publication of its views on privacy, the ICA today released new privacy
disclosure and privacy protection criteria for its WebTrust service. The WebTrust service is
designed to be a comprehensive seal of assurance for ecommerce, covering issues such as business
practice disclosures, transaction integrity, and the security of information such as credit card details.
The new WebTrust criteria are designed to ensure that businesses conducting any form of electronic
commerce reveal to consumers what private information is being gathered, and what uses will be
made of that information, including distribution to third parties.
See also: ZDNet Australia's Privacy Statement
