International Law

The Brisbane Times reports that the police are using Go Cards to track people's movements:

Police are tracking commuters' movements on Brisbane public transport using their Go Card records.

Officers are using the technology to not only pinpoint the movements of criminal suspects but also potential witnesses.

One woman has told brisbanetimes.com.au she was contacted last month as part of a murder probe after police tracked her down via her Go Card, which is registered with her details by TransLink.

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A TransLink spokesman said police sought Go Card records ?less than a handful of times a week? under an exemption to the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Chapter 29).

?Requests must be made in writing and the information provided can be used in court,? a Translink spokesman said in a statement.

?This is the same procedure that police and other law enforcement agencies follow to gain credit card or banking information, driver's licence data or any other detail which may help confirm a person's identity or movements.?

The records often relate to missing persons or stolen cards and a warrant is needed if the record is to be used in court.

But the practice of tracking people's movements without their consent has raised the ire of civil libertarians.

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Australian Council for Civil Liberties president Terry O'Gorman said he was not surprised to find police were accessing Go Card records as part of investigations.

?We warned when the Go Cards were introduced that the electronic records could be used for various forms of surveillance and we were pooh-poohed and told that we were being unnecessarily concerned,? he said.

?This shows that our concerns are justified.

?In the light of this I'd urge people who are concerned about their privacy to take the de-identification route so that agents of the state can't willy-nilly access information on their travel patterns.?

Read more here.  As a result of this you may want to think twice before you register your Go Card.