A number of privacy, security and technology experts have called on the Prime Minister to launch an immediate inquiry into the 2016 Census.
“The Turnbull Government’s handling of the Census to date demonstrates both a total disrespect for personal privacy rights and lack of digital literacy,” said Amy Gray from Digital Rights Watch.
“The frustration felt by the public extends far beyond the inconvenience of the website crashing on Census night. Valid privacy concerns were dismissed, confusion and obfuscation about the ‘attacks’ on the ABS servers pervaded throughout the media, and very little information was provided to the public about what had actually occurred."
“What is urgently needed is an an independent investigation of the whole process, including a forensic report of the cause of the website crash, the handling of privacy concerns and the outsourcing of key services to private companies,” said Ms Gray.
“Research ethics matter and are relevant to all data collection projects, including the Census. Critical questions of informed consent and confidentiality were swept aside in Census 2016. This has had predictably disastrous consequences for public trust and the reliability of the data collected,” said Dr Leslie Cannold.
“The upside of #Censusfail is that it’s provided Australian leaders with a chance to consult with experts and the Australian people about the consent and privacy implications of Big Data. This is the research ethics, digital privacy & personal information debate we had to have,” said Dr Cannold.
“We call on the government to appoint suitable experts to conduct an independent inquiry into the ABS’s conduct of Census 2016. And to adopt best practice ethical and governance standards in the collection, use, linkage and storage of Australians’ personal and sensitive data.”
For media comment please contact Digital Rights Watch
If you’d like to join this call for action, sign our petition here.
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The letter, signed by prominent privacy advocates, academics and journalists, reads:
The conduct of this year’s census raises serious and pressing ethical, legal, security and technological concerns. These throw doubt on the value of the exercise and the quality of the data collected.
The Australian government must put the Census 2016 on hold while it consults with the Australian people on the value and ethical ramifications of this and similar mass data-collection exercises. Expert input and advice must be sought to determine best practice ethical, governance and security standards for data collection, use, linkage, storage, and real-world implementation.
These problems, and the difficulties Australians have experienced in accessing and completing both the paper and electronic forms, make imperative the provision of the following two remedies.
We therefore respectfully request:
1. Amnesty for anyone who files a late or incomplete census 2. An independent inquiry into the ABS’s conduct of Census 2016. This should include a comparison of the ethical and institutional governance arrangements for hard-copy and electronic data collection, storage, linkage and use with international and best practice standards. Community consultation should take place in regard to the appointment of heads of this inquiry, precise terms of reference and timeframes for reporting.
Signed by: Tim Norton, Digital Rights Watch Amy Gray, Digital Rights Watch Asher Wolf, journalist Dr Suelette Dreyfus Peter Tonoli Jenna Price Liam Pomfret, Australian Privacy Foundation Mark Walkom, Australian Privacy Foundation Simon Frew, Pirate Party Australia Felicity Ruby, PhD Candidate Professor Ariadne Vromen Tim Cashmere Mary Kostakidis, Freelance Journalist Gautam Raju, Campaigner Jack Skinner Dr Leslie Cannold Melissa Castan, Law Lecturer Dr Ben Harris-Roxas Professor Robert Sparrow Robin Doherty, Hack for Privacy Dr Kristoffer Greaves, Legal Educator Archie Law, CEO ActionAid Australia Thomas Kane Kate Galloway, Law Lecturer Tom Sulston, Technology Consultant Trisha Jha Suzy Wood, IP Lawyer Justin Clacherty, Future Wise Australia Cade Diehm, SpiderOak Trent Yarwood, Future Wise Australia Julian Burnside AO QC Dr Matthew Rimmer, Professor of Intellectual Property and Innovation Law, QUT Faculty of Law Dan Nolan, software engineer James Horton, Founder & CEO, Datanomics Steve King, Privacy Research and Advocate Dr Angela Daly, QUT Law and APF board member Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Australian Greens Katie Miller, Lawyer Electronic Frontier Foundation Jennifer Robinson, human rights lawyer Nic Seton, Campaigner James Clark, Digital Campaigner