The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its counterpart in the United Kingdom, to work jointly on policy development and the enforcement of laws protecting personal information.
Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk, said the signing with the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) reflected a shared mission to uphold information rights.
“The MoU recognises the convergence of forces in the privacy landscape – the combination of ever-changing technology, the amounts of personal information that move rapidly around the globe, and the increasing role of data in driving our economies,” Ms Falk said.
She said that developing global interoperability in data protection laws was an essential element in contemporary privacy regulation.
Ms Falk said that under the MoU, the organisations would work together to protect personal data through sharing experience, expertise and ways of working; cooperating on specific projects and investigations, including joint research; and sharing of information and intelligence to support each other’s work.
She said the MoU identified the regulation of children’s privacy as being a potential area for cooperation.
“The OAIC looks forward to working with its ICO colleagues and further deepening the already strong and positive relationship,” Ms Falk said.
She said the MoU followed the decision by the OAIC earlier this month to lodge proceedings against Facebook in the Federal Court alleging the social media platform had committed serious interferences with privacy in contravention of Australian privacy law.
The OAIC alleged that the personal information of Australian Facebook users was disclosed to the This is your Digital Life app for a purpose other than the purpose for which the information was collected, in breach of the Privacy Act 1988.
The Federal Court can impose a civil penalty of up to $1.7m for each serious and/or repeated interference with privacy.
