Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Pocock, and I share your concerns, as does this government. I'm certainly aware that, from 26 June—which is tomorrow—Meta plans on using public social media activity from users to train and improve its AI tools. I think that this raises privacy concerns for many Australians. It corresponds with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner's 2023 privacy survey, which found that roughly 70 per cent of Australians consider that organisations using AI must comply with strict privacy rules and less than 20 per cent are comfortable with businesses using AI to make decisions about them based on their personal information.

Senator Pocock, you asked what action the government is taking. As a starting point, the Privacy Commissioner, Ms Carly Kind, has requested a meeting with Meta to discuss their proposed privacy safeguards regarding its AI tools. The Albanese government is also committed to stronger privacy protections for Australians. As you'd be aware, Senator Pocock, we do have a number of proposed privacy reforms that we seek to bring through this parliament. They would assist in mitigating some of these risks and concerns by requiring the collection, use and disclosure of personal information to be fair and reasonable in the circumstances. They would require consent to be voluntary and informed and would recognise the ability for individuals to withdraw consent; they would require entities to provide clear information about the use of algorithms and profiling to recommend content to individuals; and they would provide individuals with additional rights, including a right to erasure under certain circumstances.

It's a bit trite, I guess, to say that, with the use of AI growing in Australia and internationally, we are finding that the laws that we have in place right around the world need updating to ensure that safeguards are provided. I'm looking forward to the outcome of that meeting between the Privacy Commissioner and Meta while we get on with our broader reforms.