Majority of Australians have had a negative privacy experience with an organisation: OAIC

Nearly half of Australians have had a negative privacy experience with at least one organisation, new findings from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

In the Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey (ACAPS), it showed that 47 percent of consumers were told by an organisation that their personal information was involved in a data breach in the year prior and 75 percent said they experienced harm because of a data breach.

On top of that, 90 percent of consumers are concerned over Australian companies sending their data overseas.

There are also AI-related concerns amongst consumers with 96 percent wanting conditions in place before AI is used to make decisions that might affect them.

Angelene Falk, commissioner at OAIC said the survey shows privacy is a significant concern for Australians, especially in areas that have seen recent developments like artificial intelligence and biometrics.

“Australians see data breaches as the biggest privacy risk today, which is not surprising with almost half of those surveyed saying they were affected by a data breach in the prior year,” she said.

“There is a strong desire for organisations to do more to advance privacy rights, including minimising the amount of information they collect, taking extra steps to protect it and deleting it when no longer required.”

There are high levels of distrust amongst consumers, the OAIC report noted only four sectors (health, federal government, finance and education) are more trusted than not by Australians to handle their personal information.

Less than half of people trust organisations to only collect the information they need, use and share information as they say they will, store information securely, give individuals access to their information and delete information when no longer needed.

Australians want more to be done to protect their privacy, 84 percent want more control and choice over the collection and use of their information. Around nine in 10 Australians would like businesses and government agencies to do more to protect their personal information.

Falk said the findings point to several areas where organisations can do more to build trust in the community.

“Not only is good privacy practice the right thing to do and what the community expects, it’s a precondition for the success of innovations that rely on personal information,” she said.

The survey findings also show there is strong support for privacy law reform.

“We are at a pivotal moment for privacy in Australia, where we can seize the opportunity to ensure laws and practices uphold our fundamental human right to privacy,” Falk explained.

“This is an opportunity to ensure the protections the community expects are reflected in the law. The OAIC will use the findings to inform our ongoing input into the review of the Privacy Act and to target our activities at areas of high concern among the community.”