A Liberal senator has continued to pressure Chinese-owned tech companies operating in Australia by urging the information watchdog to investigate ridesharing app DiDi.
Late last week, the opposition spokesman on cyber security and countering foreign interference James Paterson wrote to the information commissioner asking for the Australian arm of the company, DiDi Australia, to be investigated. He posted the letter to Twitter today.
“Australians deserve to know exactly how their sensitive private information is being handled by this company and only complete transparency about their data-handling processes will reassure Australians about their privacy and cyber security,” he wrote.
This comes after Paterson asked DiDi to make assurances about its privacy protections, including asking whether data on Australian users is stored or can be accessed from China.
Paterson’s letter cited a US$1.2 billion fine for breaching privacy laws, and the company’s privacy policy which states that user data can be transferred to other bodies in the DiDi group.
In response, DiDi Australia’s head of government affairs and safety Maria Silos said it complied with Australia’s laws and privacy principles. She also said data is stored and accessed outside China — but did not rule it out happening in the future.
There are fears that this means it could be accessed by the Chinese government because of a Chinese national intelligence law that compels any citizen or business to comply with requests.
Paterson’s efforts are part of a broader campaign calling on the Albanese government to do more to protect Australians from foreign interference. Before this, he had used the same playbook against ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of the mega-popular short video platform TikTok.
On Sunday, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said she had sought a briefing on options to deal with TikTok and other applications collecting data on Australians.
“It’s not just about TikTok,” she told the SMH. “We’ve got this basic problem here where we’ve got technology companies that are based in countries with a more authoritarian approach to the private sector, and this is a relatively new problem.”
O’Neil, whose TikTok account disappeared without explanation after the election, did rule out banning TikTok, however.
Do you fear China is looking over our shoulder on social media? Let us know your thoughts by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
I am tired of the unparticularised scaremongering about privacy and Chinese platforms. If the problem is a serious as all the breathless warriors like Patterson claim, or more correctly snidely suggest, can they please explain to me exactly how that data can be used to the detriment of individual Australians or the mythical ‘national security’.
These over-blown claim about China deliberately overlook the real problem with data privacy; ie under Australian laws no individual has any effective privacy. Social media companies are founded on the fact that they force users to relinquish privacy by a take-it-or-leave-it privacy policy which authorises the platform to spare that data anywhere that makes money for the platform. Privacy legislation is the problem. It protects no privacy. It actually authorises the monetisation of punters relinquished ‘rights’ to privacy. In short, it is a joke.
Is it only me that thinks foreign interference includes all foreign nation states, including the U.K and the U.S? Why don’t we hear outrage and bulldog like determination from Patterson when our sovereignty is continually being undermined by these two powers? Morrison’s hotline to Pompeo worth a look at perchance? Or could it just be old-fashioned Sinophobia dressed up as Australian Nationalism?
Amazing that the Lib’s are all about doing stuff now they are out of power.
But still shilling for the US government.
I fear racist right-wing ratbag zealots like Paterson more than I fear China looking over my shoulder!
How is this any different from the US Government or any other government being able to compel access to Facebook or other records? Correct me if I am wrong, but we have no ability to shield private information from the prying eyes of foreign and domestic spy agencies. If they want your data and records, they will kick your door down and take it, court order or not.
No?