IT article clarification

IN its November 15 edition, Business News published a story entitled “Privacy legislation may put the heat on cookies”. Business News has been advised this story contained several inaccuracies.

In the story regarding the forthcoming Australian privacy legislation, Mr Richard Keeves, managing director of Internet Business Corporation (IBC), was quoted to have said: “To enforce those laws it’s almost going to be bordering on impossible and it will limit the e-commerce operations of companies affected by any legislation.”

Mr Keeves was making reference to the proposed laws in the European Union to ban the use of cookies on websites. Mr Keeves was not referring to the new privacy laws being introduced in Australia, as the story suggested.

Furthermore, Mr Keeves was quoted as saying that placing cookies on a website could be in contravention of the new privacy laws.

Mr Keeves has advised Business News that potential breaches of the privacy laws only arise when information stored in a website cookie is related to personal information identifying the individual.

“Consent should be obtained prior to the collection of personal information on a website,” Mr Keeves said. “The methods of collection must also be disclosed in the organisation’s privacy statement.”

IBC was established in 1995 and is based in West Perth. The company has over 20 staff including a specialist team who provide consulting and development services for large-scale business websites, extranets and intranets. IBC also has business units specialising in Online Marketing, Publishing, Communications and Privacy Services.

The IBC Privacy Services Unit was formed in April this year and provides privacy consulting, training and risk assessments for the private and public sectors. In June IBC was selected as the Approved Audit Body in WA for the Australian Privacy Seal Audit and Certification Program. Further information on IBC is available at www.ibc.com.au.

Business News apologises for any inconvenience these errors may have caused.