This year’s Privacy Awareness Week is being held this week until Sunday (10 May), highlighting the importance of guarding personal information online.
Centred on the slogan Reboot Your Privacy, Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk said this year’s focus on protecting personal information online was particularly relevant as even more of our activity and interactions had moved online during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Commissioner Falk said the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) was encouraging Australians to check and update privacy controls; consider alternatives when giving or asking for personal information; and delete data from old devices and securely destroy or de-identify personal information no longer needed for legal purposes.
“As consumers, Privacy Awareness Week is an opportunity to reboot our privacy by checking our privacy controls and settings,” Commissioner Falk said.
“For businesses and Australian Government agencies, it serves as an important reminder to check the right controls are in place and to build in privacy by design.”
She said that Privacy Awareness Week was an initiative of the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities held every May and was now in its 15th year.
She said the OAIC had developed tips for consumers to help them protect their personal information in the digital environment.
Commissioner Falk said new resources for businesses and Australian Government agencies included
* Privacy in Practice e-learning course for Australian Government agency staff.
* Privacy guidance for employers to help keep workplaces safe and handle personal information appropriately during the COIVID-19 outbreak.
* Advice to help regulated entities assess the privacy risks involved in changed working environments.
More information about Privacy Awareness Week 2020 can be accessed at this PS News link.
