Surveillance in the public eye (media release)
• Is there a difference between public and private spaces and how you expect the law to protect your privacy?
• Are shopping centres public places?
• Is your backyard a public space?
• Is it okay for police to film you at a demonstration?
• Should you be allowed to take photos of your children in a public place? What if other people you don’t know also take photos of your children?
How surveillance in public places is controlled will be the next stage of the Victorian Law Reform Commission’s Privacy project.
“The commission has already identified a number of surveillance issues through its work into privacy in the workplace,” law reform commissioner, Professor Sam Ricketson, said today.
“We gave the government a final report into workplace privacy in October 2005 which contained a number of recommendations including the introduction of codes of practice and the creation of an independent workplace privacy regulator.
“Our terms of reference for the project ask us to now consider whether any legislation or procedures are necessary for surveillance in public places.
“They also ask us to consider publication of photos without the subject’s consent, especially in the wake of concerns about people using mobile phone cameras and uploading the images to the internet.
“With all our projects we start off by asking the public what they think. In the next few months we will be meeting with people who use or are affected by surveillance in public places. We also want to hear from anyone else who has an opinion on whether certain practices should be regulated.
“We will then publish a consultation paper that will outline all the issues we’ve come across and ask more detailed questions about whether the law needs to be changed or not.
“From speaking to people, receiving submissions and conducting our own research we will go on to write a report with final recommendations to government,” Professor Ricketson said.
If anyone would like to tell us what they think of surveillance in public places or would like to register their interest in this project, they should contact the commission on email: law.reform@lawreform.vic.gov.au, phone: (03) 8619 8619, 1300 666 555, TTY 1300 666 557, or mail: GPO Box 4637, Melbourne Victoria 3001.