In Ben Grubb and Telstra Corporation Limited [2015] AICmr 35 the Privacy Commissioner ruled that metadata is personal information and that Telstra breached the National Privacy Principles in failing to provide the complainant with access to metadata in relation to his mobile phone service, including (but not limited to) cell tower logs, inbound call and text details, duration of data sessions and telephone calls and the URLs of websites visited.

Telstra was ordered to provide access to the metadata except for inbound call numbers.

The term metadata was used interchangeably with ‘communications data’ and ‘telecommunications data’.

Telstra originally notified the complainant that he could access outbound mobile call details and the length of his data usage sessions via online billing. Telstra advised the complainant that due to privacy laws it was unable to provide the complainant with information regarding location and details of the numbers that called and sent SMS to his mobile phone service. Telstra advised that the complainant would need a subpoena for any of the other information he had requested.

Some information initially withheld was subsequently provided to the complainant. But Telstra withheld network data and inbound call numbers.

Telstra identified three sub-types of network data which the complainant was not provided access to:

• Internet Protocol (IP) address information
• Uniform Resource Locator (URL) information
• Cell tower location information beyond the cell tower location information that Telstra retains for billing purposes (to which the complainant was given access)

Recently Telstra has announced that customers will now be able to access the same metadata about them (save for shared information) that Telstra would provide to law enforcement agencies, on request without a warrant.

Telstra has indicated it will appeal the decision.