Posted March 14, 2020 13:11:24AUSTRALIA is to scrap plans to allow the internet service providers (ISPs) to collect personal data on their customers for advertising.
Under the proposal, ISPs would be allowed to collect customer information including their internet service provider (ISP) address, IP address and their search history.
The government said it wanted to avoid a situation where Australians were being subjected to an advertising-heavy system.
But the proposal was criticised by privacy campaigners who said it would unfairly burden Australians with unnecessary data collection and retention.
It is understood the government has not yet made a final decision on the proposal.
The ABC understands the government wants to move on to a new data protection policy for the internet and to make sure the rules are updated as the internet evolves.
The proposed data retention policy is one of the first major government-commissioned privacy studies undertaken since the Federal Government’s digital transformation program began in 2019.
It’s expected to be reviewed in March 2020.
But the issue has been a source of frustration for many privacy campaigners and the public, with some arguing it’s unfair and could put Australian privacy at risk.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten has also been critical of the plan, saying it could lead to a culture of data collection, as well as an invasion of Australians’ privacy.
“I don’t think this is a good way to go about it,” Mr Shorten said.
“It’s a good thing for them to get rid of this data, but it’s also going to be a problem for them.”
We’ve had this discussion in the media, but I’m afraid we’re just going to have to be patient.
“Privacy advocates welcomed the Government’s move.”
This is one thing that I would say is good news,” said Nick Davies, a privacy campaigner with the Australian Privacy Foundation.”
If we’re going to live in a world where people are going to collect information about us without our knowledge, it is good that the Government is moving towards some kind of data protection regime for the whole of the internet.
“Mr Davies said he was pleased that the proposal included privacy rights for Australians, rather than the current blanket data retention laws.”
That is a very important thing to keep in mind, that the internet is not a place where it’s OK for your internet service to be collecting your data, and then selling that information,” he said.
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