LAW5343 Privacy and surveillance: Law, policy and governance

The emergence of new technologies, including AI and technologies based on the Internet of
Things, coupled with recent events such as the revelations of Edward Snowden and the
Cambridge Analytica scandal, have placed new attention on privacy and surveillance in
contemporary public debates.
This unit traverses the complex patchwork of common law and statutory regimes which protect the
privacy of personal activities and communications in Australia and compares it with that available

in other jurisdictions, including the EU. It also examines the role of data protection and anti-
surveillance laws in guarding against the potential harms posed by new applications of Big Data

Analytics, including discrimination, manipulation and lack of due process.
These topics are explored from a range of perspectives and having regard to theoretical, policy
and international contexts.