Category: privacy laws

Victoria’s Mental Health Complaints Body Fights Order to Release Recommendations Citing Privacy Laws

Victoria’s Mental Health Complaints Commissioner (MHCC) is fighting an order to release recommendations on how it was dealing with major problems within the state service. The latest move comes after a June report (pdf) found local Victorians had suffered “gross human rights violations” during mental health treatments that were often conducted against their will. Mental…


NWT Privacy Commissioner Upholds Privacy Rights After Hospital Worker’s Alleged Photo of Visitor in Mask Dispute

In April 2021, a hospital employee at a COVID screening station allegedly took photographs of a visitor to the Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife, after a dispute over the facility’s mask policy. The “screener” also tried to get the licence plate number of the hospital visitor, who never entered the hospital past the reception desk,…


Australia Moves to Protect Children From Increasing Social Media Harms

The Australian government is seeking to implement new laws to protect teens and children from harmful content on social media platforms. Announcing the draft legislation on Oct. 25, Attorney-General Michaelia Cash and the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, David Coleman, said in a joint media release that the landmark Privacy Legislation…


Canada’s Cyberspy Agency May Have Broken Privacy Law, Intelligence Watchdog Says

OTTAWA—The national intelligence watchdog says Canada’s cyberspy agency may have broken the law in disclosing personal information about Canadians. The Ottawa-based Communications Security Establishment, given its foreign-intelligence mandate, suppresses details that identify Canadians, or even people in Canada, in its reports. Such identifying information ranges from names of people to email addresses and computer IP…