Australians could opt out of tracking and request their data is shifted when they switch companies under a radical proposal from the Productivity Commission.
A new Data Sharing and Release Act would be legislated to enshrine rights like these - as well as the right to appeal against automated decisions such as credit profiling - as part of proposals in a draft report released this morning.
Productivity Commission Chair, Peter Harris, said individuals currently have no rights to ownership of the data that is collected about them.
"Data is increasingly an asset, and when you create an asset you should have the ability to use it, or not, at your choice,” he said.
The Commission is seeking contributions on its draft report before finalising and submitting a final report to government.
"The risks from the proposed reforms are no greater than the risks today that are managed by any consumer who chooses to click a mouse and buy or subscribe to a product,” Mr Harris said.
"And the same advice applies: be very choosey about who you share your data with."
Value of business register
The report also highlights the value to the community of the ASIC's corporate database, the potential privatisation of which is currently in the spotlight.
Public release of National Interest Datasets (NIDs) for collections of extremely high value information is proposed, and the report states twice that one of the potential NIDs is business register data.
The report also states the value to the community of access to the ASIC database is at least the $61 million in revenue brought in annually by people paying for company searches.
The government is running a tender process for the operation of the ASIC registry, but the move has been met with criticism given the importance of the information in revealing corporate malpractice and tax avoidance.
Related reading
Proposed ASIC database sell-off 'stupid'
ASIC made a submission to the Productivity Commission inquiry noting the tender. It argued the process will enhance "the services, integrity, access to and collection of the Registry data for all users”, but it made no mention of public access to the information or the value of this access to the community.
"The government believes that the involvement of the private sector has the potential to unlock significant value within the registry and to deliver considerable benefits to the economy,” the submission said.
In contrast, the Productivity Commission framed the valuation of data as about more than just generated revenue streams.
"The potential to trigger innovative investments or opportunities for better governance are all considerations that could easily outweigh any revenue generation, even if government datasets were priced according to market forces,” the Commission report said.
The government will make a final decision on the privatisation once the tender process has concluded.
Right of appeal against robots
The Productivity Commission’s draft report was prompted by recent government inquiries into the financial sector and competition policy, which recommended further investigation into improving access to and use of data.
It proposes a whole new set of laws to ensure Australians have access to data about themselves, and even gives them the chance to appeal decisions made about them by corporate robots.
"Consumers would also have a right to be informed of disclosure of data by a data holder to third parties; and a right to appeal automated decisions, such as those based on statistical profiling,” the report states.
Related reading
Robots head China plan to leapfrog rivals
Under the reforms put forward, government departments would have greater obligations to track, publish and share data.
The report’s strong focus on improving use of data may concern privacy advocates. One recommendation seeks to abolish the government’s existing requirement to destroy linked datasets and linkage keys at the completion of projects.
The report also heaps greater responsibility on to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
The Productivity Commission suggests the OAIC should be in charge of the process of scrubbing personal information from datasets, as well as overseeing reforms, which would allow a wider pool of researchers access to personal information without first obtaining consent.
The Productivity Commission report was provided to SBS under embargo. It is available from the Productivity Commission website.
Share
