The ABC will postpone the introduction of mandatory log-ins for its iview streaming service until the end of the year.
From this month, users were to be required to set up an ABC account, providing an email, postcode, their year of birth and their gender, to access iview.
The ABC’s managing director David Anderson admitted in May it would be an “immediate inconvenience” but “the benefits that sit on the other side of this are at least meant to match or be better than the benefits you get with all other streaming services.”
Now the ABC has delayed the rollout to make sure everything is sound from a security point of view.
“We had initially intended to roll out mandatory log-ins across July and August but have decided to slow things down to ensure our audiences understand the benefits they will receive from creating an ABC account and the ways we manage and protect their personal information,” an ABC spokesman said.
“It is our intention to introduce mandatory log-ins for ABC iview by the end of the year.”
The ABC will also allow users to opt-out of their viewing preferences being shared with third-party services, such as Google and Facebook.
The Institute of Public Affairs’ director of communications Evan Mulholland warns that “Australians should be very sceptical of state entities like the ABC, compelling users to hand over personal information,” adding “users of iview should not have to ‘sign up’ for a service they already pay for in taxes.”
