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Telstra Hit With Largest Ever Privacy Fine

Communications regulator ACMA has dealt Telstra its largest ever fine, slapping the telco with a $2.5m penalty for public safety and privacy issues.

The watchdog found close to 50,000 instances where Telstra failed to execute requests for unlisted or silent numbers, leaving these numbers publicly listed in online directories and place such as The White Pages.

Telstra also failed to update customer databases on its Belong service, on more than 65,000 occasions.

“When people request a silent number it is often for very important privacy and safety reasons, and we know that the publication of their details can have serious consequences,” ACMA chairwoman Nerida O’Loughlin said.

“The IPND is also used by triple-0 to help locate people in an emergency, for the Emergency Alert Service to warn of emergencies like flood or bushfire, and to assist law enforcement ­activities. The provision of these critical services can be hampered and lives put in danger if data is missing, wrong or out of date.

“It is alarming that Telstra could get this so wrong on such a large scale.

“Telstra initially self-reported these matters and moved quickly to fix them. However, this is not Telstra’s only recent major breach of these rules, which is why the ACMA has taken this action.”

A Telstra spokesman copped the fine.

“We have an obligation and responsibility to protect the privacy and safety of our customers – and we haven’t met our own high expectations or those of our customers,” the spokesman said.



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