Tassie election internet law sparks protests

Renai LeMay
Friday, 19 February 2010 14:56

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

A number of civil liberties, privacy, consumer groups and individuals have started to express displeasure at what they claim are out-of-date laws regarding disclosure of personal information when Tasmanian residents comment online about the upcoming state election.

According to consumer group Digital Tasmania, Section 191 of the state's Electoral Law currently requires all election material posted on the internet to be accompanied by an authorisation containing a person's full name and home or work address.

The situation mirrors legislation enacted in South Australia recently which requires a resident's details to accompany any internet comment about the election. However, the state quickly pledged to repeal the legislation after substantial public dissent led by newspaper the Advertiser.

Digital Tasmania, a consumer action group, today condemned the Tasmanian regulations in a statement backed by Electronic Frontiers Australia, Civil Liberties Australia and the Australian Privacy Foundation.

'The sheer impracticality of enforcing this law on thousands of people in Tasmania and elsewhere commenting on this election is overwhelming,' Digital Tasmania spokesperson Andrew Connor said, claiming the law was a 'backwards step' for those using social networking sites such as Facebook, which he said had recently improved privacy controls.

'Those who do follow the letter of the law potentially expose themselves to harassment, stalking, physical abuse or identity theft,' said Connor. 'It is conceivable that such personally identifiable information may, once published, remain available online forever.'