Featured, News - Friday, February 19, 2010 15:05 - 24 Comments

Tassie election internet law sparks protests

A number of civil liberties, privacy, consumer groups and individuals have started to express displeasure at what they claim are out-of-date laws regarding disclosure of personal information when Tasmanian residents comment online about the upcoming state election.

According to consumer group Digital Tasmania, Section 191 of the state’s Electoral Law currently requires all election material posted on the internet to be accompanied by an authorisation containing a person’s full name and home or work address.

The situation mirrors legislation enacted in South Australia recently which requires a resident’s details to accompany any internet comment about the election. However, the state quickly pledged to repeal the legislation after substantial public dissent led by newspaper the Advertiser.

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