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Perth Airport’s free public Wi-Fi policy has been slammed by a West Australian MP and a digital rights expert, who have both called it a violation of user privacy.
As reported by ABC, Perth’s public Wi-Fi policy allows it to use data collected in the process in any way it sees fit.
“By submitting Your Content through any of the PAPL App or Online Services, you grant us (our successors and our related bodies corporate, partners and their successors) a royalty-free, irrevocable, non-exclusive, worldwide, license to use, reproduce, modify, distribute, broadcast, sub license and/or otherwise exploit part or all of Your Content in any medium (including but not limited to the online services), by any means or for any purpose, and to authorise others to do so,” the policy said.
The terms and conditions also said that the airport and all named parties above would also be able to “do or omit to do anything to Your Content which may infringe your moral rights in Your Content”, such as altering and editing it or reproducing it.
Western Australia’s Liberal member for Cottesloe, David Honey, shared the terms and conditions on his Facebook page, calling the terms an “absolute disgrace”.
Speaking with ABC Radio Perth, Honey’s main concern was with content relating to his family.
“The way I read it was if I send a photo of myself or one of my kids or one of my grandkids, that they own the content of it, and they could use it for any purpose, they could use it for advertising or perpetuity forever,” he said.
“It befuddles me why a service provider would have that on their terms and conditions.
“This idea that they could take your content and use it for any purpose that they choose, commercial or otherwise, I think is profoundly offensive. I think most people would be absolutely stunned.”
Digital Rights Watch chair Lizzie O’Shea told ABC Radio Perth that terms like this were actually common, but she did not deny the privacy concerns they raise.
“What it highlights is a real deficiency in how personal information is regulated in the digital age and that the privacy laws we have in Australia are not fit for purpose,” she said.
Perth Airport told ABC that it had no intention of using customer content and that its terms were standard across its services.
“When Perth Airport provides 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 customer content uploaded is not defamatory, offensive or in breach of third-party IP rights.
“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 do choose to upload or share images with us or enter competitions.”
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