ITWire

Despite the ruling, the ACMA has said it will not take enforcement action on this occasion, with Chairman, Chris Chapman, saying the authority considered that 2GB’s action in response to the ACMA investigations were “commensurate with the breach,” and that “bearing in mind that this is the first such breach by this licensee, there is no current indication of systemic issues and the licensee has co-operated with the ACMA.”

ACMA found that material relating to a person’s personal or private affairs was used when that person’s full name, street address and suburb of residence were broadcast during the Ray Hadley Morning Show on 25 November last year, and that these details were sufficient to identify the person.

“The broadcast of a person’s name and address without consent is a breach of the privacy protections under the codes,” Chapman said.

Chapman said 2GB would discuss the facts of this case and the ACMA’s findings with all presenters and producers of its current affairs programs, and incorporate the findings into its training sessions.

The investigation also found that 2GB failed to comply with the codes’ complaint-handling requirements, and Chapman said that complaints-handling procedures had been improved by the radio station following a recent review of processes conducted since the broadcast.