SYDNEY: Australia's Internet Industry Association is pushing for a
new industry-led code of practice which would limit the amount of
personal information available on the web on children and tighten the
rules of direct marketing.
Together with its recently-launched federal election campaign, the IIA
claims the code will tackle the main hurdles holding back Australia's
ecommerce economy.
"Our code is intended to position Australian businesses which deal with
personal information, particularly, but not only, over the internet,"
IIA chief executive Peter Coroneous said. "The lack of trust which
presently permeates e-commerce, at least in the minds of many end users,
means that the industry has to go that extra mile to deal with the
natural reticence of people to deal with unseen entities in a virtual
environment."
If adopted, the code would work with existing government regulations and
give businesses the chance to offer consumers more protection. Unlike
government regulation, the code could be easily updated to fill any
emerging gaps in privacy practice. Specifically, it aims to extend
privacy rules regarding personal information about children, the use of
DM online with a preference for permission-based models.
