Judge on privacy: Computer code trumps the law


Australian High Court Judge Justice Kirby says computer code is more potent than the
law--and that legislators are powerless to do anything about it.

Technology has outpaced the legal system's ability to regulate its use in matters of
privacy and fair use rights, said Kirby, speaking Thursday night at an Internet
Industry Association (IIA) event.

Kirby said the judicial system has faced difficulties in coping with changes the
Internet and computing have brought.

While the soon-to-be-reviewed Privacy Act has incorporated key privacy principles
such as "usage limitation"--which states that data collected about an individual
cannot be used for other purposes, except by the approval of the law or the person's
consent--Google and Yahoo have rendered that principle defunct, Kirby said.