The privacy of banking information is in the spotlight after Westpac told the Privacy Commission it did not need any legal order before handing over customers' personal banking details to police. Westpac claimed it got the power to do so when customers signed the bank's "terms and conditions" - a move it claimed voided customers' rights. In a decision released today, the Privacy Commission expressed doubt in its ruling that the bank could actually hold a "well-founded belief" that its customers had signed away their rights. "I am sure it would come as a surprise to a great many of Westpac's customers that this were so." The Privacy Commissioner said Westpac had failed on both its arguments that it was allowed to provide the information to police.

Source: New Zealand Herald February 20, 2017 00:22 UTC