The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has opened a formal investigation into social media giant Facebook following confirmation that more than 300,000 Australian users may have had their personal information acquired and used without authorisation.
Acting Australian Information Commissioner, Angelene Falk said the investigation would consider whether Facebook breached the Privacy Act 1988.
“Given the global nature of this matter, the OAIC will confer with regulatory authorities internationally,” Ms Falk said.
“All organisations that are covered by the Privacy Act have obligations in relation to the personal information that they hold.”
She said this included taking reasonable steps to ensure that personal information was held securely, and ensuring that customers were adequately notified about the collection and handling of their personal information.
“This is a timely reminder to all organisations of the value of good privacy practice to Australians,” Ms Falk said.
“Organisations should regularly and proactively assess their information-handling practices to ensure that they are both compliant with privacy laws and in keeping with community expectations.”
She said if anyone has concerns about how their personal information has been collected or managed they can, in the first instance, contact Facebook directly and if not satisfied with their response they can contact the OAIC on 1300 363 992 or at [email protected].
