Information and Communications Technology Issues – Introduction

1. Information and Communications Technology Issues – Introduction David Vaile Executive Director Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre Faculty of Law, University of NSW http://www.bakercyberlawcentre.org/ d.vaile@unsw.edu.au (02) 9385 3589

2. Analysing IT projects – General considerations • Project failure • Risk Management • Protection of user rights • Third party rights • Privacy • Surveillance/social sorting Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf

3. IT project risk factors • 75% IT projects ‘fail’ – immature industry • time, cost, scope, quality • 20% coding and engineering – ignore? • 80% analysis, communication, revision • User-Centred Design & Risk Management • Neglected but critical • Early vs. late error discovery • ‘User sovereignty’ • Or ongoing disaster? • Suppress or use the bad news? Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf

4. User-Centred Design? • Motherhood statement? • Developers and managers reluctant • How to recognise when you see it • Starts at beginning • Leaves lots of evidence! • Repeated trials of prototypes • Benefits: faster, cheaper, better • Essential! Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf

5. Privacy • Right to be left alone • Defeat of Australia Card, Privacy Act • Limited rights of data subjects • Restricts what technology can do • Requires security • Affects everyone Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf

6. – IT and tenancy – Examples David Vaile Executive Director Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre Faculty of Law, University of NSW http://www.bakercyberlawcentre.org/ d.vaile@unsw.edu.au (02) 9385 3589

7. General issues • Large organisations expect cost savings • We should assume IT will not work • Risk Management • Certain groups more vulnerable to effects • User-Centred Design • Be honest and scrupulous about determining the nature of user needs • Iterative prototyping - fail fast! • Effects on non-user stakeholders • Limits of regulation to remedy flaws Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf

8. Tenants as IT stakeholders • Move around a lot more • Cost of relocation of ADSL $150 • May not be able to afford good connections • Certain vulnerabilities more common • Poverty • Language and literacy • Technical sophistication • Disabilities and other discrimination • Abuses can have serious consequences • Privacy and data protection breaches can lead to homelessness • Power imbalance exacerbates Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf

9. IT examples relevant to tenancy • Other domains • Electronic Health Record • Online Dispute Resolution? • Customs • Housing • Networked tenant blacklist - data abuse? • Electronic documents, proof, evidence • Networked banking • Online tenancy information • Surveillance Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf

10. Customs Agent Lodgement • If there are no presents at Xmas… • Over budget: $35M-> $200m+ • Over time: years late • Still doesn’t interface with environment • Denial, blame, buck passing • Not making use of mistakes • Pushed out early for policital reasons • Now causing build ups on the docks • Driving staff mad • Back to manual handling and fax • Development process failure Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf

11. ‘Electronic health record’ • Difficult process: • Much promised, little delivered, in denial? • Potentially great gains - if it can be made to work! • Complex, incompatible systems • Government contribution very mixed in outcomes • Federal/state confusion: • HealthConnect, HealthELink, shifting goals • Sensitivities about privacy, confidentiality • Legislative G’tee in NSW 12/04 - opt in? • Reneged 6/05 - opt out? • Demand for access for research • Limited involvement of patients • Risk of losing trust? Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf

12. Online Dispute Resolution - ODR • Widely seen as the future? • But only a few sectors work well • Domain names! • May only work for part of process • Preparation of paperwork? Not hearings? • see http://www.strategic-resolution.com/odr.html • Need pilots and research • NSW CTTT Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) http://esd.cttt.nsw.gov.au/ • Leah Jay Property Management NSW REA website provides online tenancy applicationhttp://www.ljpm.com.au/tenancy_form.php3 Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf

13. Networked Tenant Blacklists • TICA and others - dodgy data process • Open to arbitrary abuse or error • Extended homelessness or discrimination • Demonstrates gaps in regulation • Fed. Privacy Comm’r upheld 4 complaints • Accurate? Up to date? Excess charges? Notice? • But OFPC claims no jurisdiction to enforce • State can only get to listing agents, not dB • Now with Fed/State c’tee • Not fully supported by RE and landlords Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf

14. TICA Descriptors (May 2003) - No well-defined listing criteria • Damage to property • Taking possession without consent • Past tenant history no default recorded • Satisfactory payment history • Tenancy History • Current tenant • Recommended tenant • Breaches of body corporate bylaws • Poor periodic inspections • Unauthorised pets • Schemes of arrangement • Noise and Nuisance • Arrears of rent • Broke tenancy agreement • Absconded • Dishonoured Cheques • Tribunal orders (Against the Tenant in favour of the Agent or Lessor) • Court orders (Against the Tenant in favour of the Agent or Lessor) • Failed to comply with Residential Tenancy Act • Rental bond claims • Failing to provide adequate notice • Sublet without consent • Bankruptcy • Entered into Payment Arrangement Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf

15. Examples of databases • TICA (Tenancy Information Centre of Australia) operates a bad tenant database and charges a fee to tenants who want to find out what is being alleged about them and by whom. • ‘The Landlord’ provides a “Defaulting Tenant Database” to members (pay to join) with the ability to search and add a Defaulting Tenant. Also provides a “Recommended Tenant Database” and similarly allows members to search and add a Tenant for recommendation. • Issues include use and disclosure, privacy, accuracy, reliability, defamation, security of credit card transaction • http://www.thelandlord.com.au/ Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf

16. Electronic documents? • Trend towards digital documents for convenience of RE’s, some tenants • Copies must be given of certain documents - Condition report • Electronic copy may be more difficult to verify in a dispute • Can receipts be by email? • How deal with non-reception? • Digital Document Retention and Destruction • Generally more complex to unravel • Specialised skills required to analyse flaws • Cf. simplicity of a plain paper copy Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf

17. Pay rent by networked banking • Some RE/LL deprecate cash • Easier for some, but can present problems for low income tenants • Standing order or automatic deduction inflexible • Harder to defer rent paymet to buy food • Internet banking/direct deposit convenient but needs access to Internet Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf

18. Examples of online payment • DEFT (Macquarie Bank Limited) is a customer initiated (rent) payment solution and enables automatic regular recurring payments to be set up online or by phone. • Issues include data security of personal financial information (credit card details), payment history record, privacy • www.deft.com.au • WA Fastpay is an online payment service that enables payment of rent, or tenant liability payments etc. to be combined with payment of other government bills in a single transaction. • http://www.dhw.wa.gov.au/404_450.asp Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf

19. Online tenancy information? • Expectation that info is online? • But can be hard to deliver… • Difficulties for community law publishers • Perceived conflict with traditional hard copy publication • Tenants Rights Manual not online • Expense and skills needed to keep online info up to date, readable • An on-going periodical, not a one-off event • Lack of commitment to maintain over time? • Cheap editing model? • Arcane art of writing for the Web • Chunking • Structure • Language: who is the audience? Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf

20. Surveillance generally • Obligations under new terror laws? • Records? • Neighbourhood disputes? • Fence cam • Landlords, Tenants, Surveillance & Society • UK Survey and discussion of landlord surveillance of tenants without technological devices, and policy implications - perhaps indication of landlords’ inclination to adopt technology in future surveillance? • http://www.surveillance-and-society.org/articles2(4)/landlords.pdf Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf

21. Conclusion Further examples David Vaile Executive Director Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre Faculty of Law, University of NSW http://www.bakercyberlawcentre.org/ d.vaile@unsw.edu.au 02 9385 3589 Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, UNSW - Res Ten Conf