Privacy in an e-Business World: A Question of Balance

One of the most important issues in e-business is the protection of privacy.
Consumers are worried that businesses and other may invade their privacy
or cause them harm by such conduct as identity theft. Businesses, too, are
worried about unscrupulous parties who seek to defraud them. Citizens fear
the spectre of ‘big brother’ and a powerful government that can use such
information to control or restrict the freedom of its citizenry. This paper
charts the Australian laws regulating privacy, including recent amendments
to the Commonwealth Privacy Act that extend privacy provisions to the
private sector.