It may have just been the Christmas season turn-off but there didn't seem to be much media attention to the announcement at the end of January that the US Federal Trade Commission ordered the consumer data broker ChoicePoint to pay $10 million in civil penalties and $5 million in consumer re-dress to settle charges that its security and record handling procedures violated privacy rights and US laws.
ChoicePoint obtains and sells personal information about consumers.
The penalties arise from disclosures that criminals had accessed ChoicePoint records and in some cases had used them to perpetrate identity fraud.
We haven't seen anything on this scale in Australia to date. But if these things can happen in the US it would be surprising if similar things were not occurring here.
This blog takes an interest in issues associated with Freedom of Information (FOI) and privacy legislation in Australia. Information contained on this site is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. Follow Peter Timmins on Twitter: @foiguru Follow the open government cause through the Australian Open Government Partnership Network. www.opengovernment.org.au and @opengovau
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