Perth Airport Wi-Fi Rules Labeled a Major Privacy Risk
Perth Airport’s free public Wi-Fi policy has been criticized by a Western Australian MP and a digital rights expert, who both called it a violation of users’ privacy.
As the ABC reports, Perth’s public Wi-Fi policy allows it to use the data collected during the process as it sees fit.
“By submitting your content via any of the PAPL applications or online services, you grant us (our successors and related legal entities, partners and their successors) a royalty-free, irrevocable, non-exclusive, worldwide license to use, reproduce, modify, distribute, broadcast, sublicense and/or otherwise exploit any part or all of your Content in any media (including, but not limited to, online services), by any means or for any purpose, and authorize others to do so,” the policy says.
The terms and conditions also stated that the airport and any parties named above would also be able to “do or omit to do anything to your content that may infringe your moral rights in your content”, such as modify, edit or reproduce it.
Liberal MP for Cottesloe in Western Australia, David Honey, shared the terms and conditions on his Facebook page, calling them an “absolute disgrace”.
Speaking to ABC Radio Perth, Honey’s main concern was content relating to her family.
“The way I read it was that if I sent a photo of myself or one of my children or one of my grandchildren, they owned the content and they could use for any purpose, they could use it for advertising or in perpetuity forever,” he said.
“I don’t understand why a service provider would have this in their terms and conditions.
“This idea that they could take your content and use it for whatever purpose they choose, commercial or otherwise, I think is deeply offensive. I think most people would be absolutely amazed.
Digital Rights Watch president Lizzie O’Shea told ABC Radio Perth that terms like this were in fact common, but she did not deny the privacy concerns they raise.
“What this highlights is a real gap in the way personal information is regulated in the digital age and that the privacy laws we have in Australia are not fit for purpose. objective,” she said.
Perth Airport told the ABC it did not intend to use customer content and its terms were standard across all its services.
“Where Perth Airport offers Wi-Fi, it is subject to an acceptable use policy set by our internet service provider,” an airport spokesperson said.
“This requires Perth Airport to ensure that content uploaded by customers is not defamatory, offensive or infringes the intellectual property rights of third parties.
“This term is simply a standard term used across a number of our online services such as our social pages where members of the public choose to upload or share images with us or enter competitions.”
