PRIVATE DATA SHOULD BE LEFT ON THE SHELF
FROM Jehova’s Witnesses knocking on the front door to irritating phone calls that spruik products and services, the lives of Gold Coasters can sometimes seem awash with uninvited intrusions.
It is why so many people, when asked to provide their name, address and telephone number by any organisation – whether government or private – do so with the utmost caution.
Tick the wrong box and before long you will learn more than you care to know about whole-of-life-insurance, or find yourself invited to respond to long and tedious surveys.
Few would fear the details required to sign up for a simple library card would be further shared in any way, but it appears that is something which has just happened.
A recent change will allow councillors and “authorised contractors” to access the details of every one of the Gold Coast’s tens of thousands of library users.
While the measure is unlikely to result in council inviting library members to find God or take out a car loan any time soon, council officials are unable to say precisely what the information will be used for.
The Bulletin made several approaches to the council seeking explanations for its decision to broaden access to information that really should only be of interest to the city’s hard-working librarians.
But the most council could tell us was that it would be used to send “relevant information regarding council’s functions and services”.
Civil liberty experts are concerned – and rightly so.
The only information “relevant” to library users is that pertaining to their use of libraries.
The concerted efforts of so many organisations to harvest names, addresses and phone numbers for reasons consumers rarely appreciate has gone too far.
It is one thing for private companies to behave in this manner. But it would really be a bridge too far if Council were to engage in a similar practice.
The Council needs to offer a clear and simple explanation for its interest in the personal details of library users, and a promise that those details will not be in any way misused.