“The Privacy Commisisoner has said explicitly that any use of facial recognition needs a high level of scrutiny, which for a government agency, effectively means their approval. Police deliberately avoided doing that.”
“we should be outlawing this intrusive technology and the tracking it enables and entails.”
A decision released yesterday by the Human Rights Review Tribunal that went against Cameron Slater is very clear. The gratuitous publication of personal details on its own simply isn’t newsworthy in any news medium. The topic has to actually be newsworthy to get the exemption in the Privacy Act for news mediums.
A new Privacy law is in the process of being enacted. But in a world where privacy breaches are rampant and the consequences potentially devastating will it be enough?
Idiot/Savant at No Right Turn on Facebook and the Privacy Commissioner.
The Indian Supreme Court has ruled that privacy is a fundamental right to life and liberty under India’s constitution. Other countries recognise the right to privacy against the state. But commercial interest through social media have access to huge amounts of private information. Why should there be a right of privacy against the state but not corporate interests?
National’s plans for our privacy and access to social services are a perfect cocktail of over-reach and incompetence.
NoRightTurn: The police’s illegal raid on Nicky Hager’s home has got even more expensive
GPS may offer the perfect way to enforce a fuel tax but how do we feel about the Government knowing where we are and where we are heading every minute of the day?
I/S at No Right Turn the “data supermarket” and privacy concerns. “The government wants to be able to effectively spy on and database everyone, so they can save a few dollars here and there.”
The reaction to Westpac handing over Nicky Hager’s data to police is still playing out. Rob Hosking observes “a creeping authoritarianism from the current government”.
I/S at No Right Turn on the police “routinely demanding personal information from New Zealand companies – and receiving it – without any form of warrant or statutory authorisation”.
I/S at No Right Turn on today’s further revelations on personal information.
The Tribunal made specific mention of the apology Baywide Chief Executive Gavin Earle read to the victim during the hearing noting that it ” . . . was delivered without any detectable note of sincerity . . . “
So it turns out that Immigration released letters from David Cunliffe and Chris Carter in support of Donghua Liu. However, the Department of Internal Affairs refused to release the letters sent by Mr Williamson and Mr Banks under the privacy and commercial provisions in the Official Information Act. This looks like a blatantly political release decision to advance the interests of the government of the day. Transparency of official information applies to everyone, not just the government’s enemies.
“New Zealanders will not have
confidence in [a …] bill rammed through
by a slender majority without public support
and with the backing of only the bare minimum
of parties necessary to get it through Parliament.”
— John Key, 2007.
(ht Toby Manhire)
So the Key-Dunne spying Bill is now law. The privacy of your electronic communications now depends on the favour of an untrustworthy PM, and the best efforts of a legal system (much derided by said PM) in interpreting a confused mess of a law / Hansard record / letter to The Herald.
Shame shame shame on all those MPs who ignored the concerns of the people who elected them and passed this travesty.
Then it’s a bad law. Who does John Key think is going to interpret the GCSB law other than lawyers from the Law Commission, the Human Rights Tribunal, the Privacy Commissioner etc?
Groklaw has been an inspirational blog for many with an interest in geekery or the law. I read it daily during the years of the SCO trial. PJ and her team were and are amazing. But now it’s over. Killed by the death of privacy, and the world that the Key-Dunne spying bill is bringing ever closer to NZ.
John Key (the PM who has on multiple occasions overspent the budget on his own protection staff) really dug himself a hole when he accused opposition leaders of wanting to “run for the hills” in case of a terrorist attack. Not only did David Shearer get to remind him of the occasions that he has been under fire – and run to help – but now some other voices have chimed in too.
Check out crossthefloor.co.nz (#crossthefloor) for a resource to send email or tweets to a shortlist of government MPS who just might discover their conscience, cross the floor, and kill the spying bill…
The Auckland Town Hall was full – nearly 2000 people – for the GCSB protest last night (with more people being turned away at the doors). Update – full video of the whole event (all speakers) is now up on YouTube. Meanwhile the Campbell Live poll had 89% of respondents opposed.
Final reminder of the pro-privacy anti-spying meeting tonight. Also worth noting in this context is Alastair Thompson’s excellent open letter to Peter Dunne. Read it. Will Dunne be a hero?
The second of the weekend’s must-read pieces. This one is by Vikram Kumar (CEO of Mega) published in the NBR, on plans to require internet service providers to install a “backdoor for the government”.
Good piece by David Fisher on selling your privacy. Don’t worry citizens consumers, it’s nothing personal. It’s just business.
Key’s loyal retainers are trying to keep him out of the Vance spying scandal. Major players are straight-out lying. Sadly for Key, the evidence of the timeline is clear. This is his scandal, start to finish.
One of the many criticisms of John Key’s spying Bill is that it isn’t needed. Well rest easy citizens consumers, because PM Key has laid those fears to rest. Here he is, in his own words, explaining why this violation of our basic human rights is absolutely necessary.
On Thursday last week hundreds attended a public meeting in Mt Albert, and on Saturday thousands of people marched in 11 centers all round NZ to protest against John Key’s spying Bill. Key’s response? They are either “politically aligned” or “misinformed”. Like the Law Society and the Human Rights Commission, no doubt.
Some photos from today’s Auckland protest. It was a great occasion. The question needs to be though, where to from here? This momentum needs to be built on.
Peter Dunne may be the best chance that we have of defeating the GCSB amending legislation. He has said that there is a principle at stake in that his rights of privacy have been breached and I believe that he is right. Time to seek his support?
It looks like privacy is going to be an increasingly rare commodity in the brave new world. Want to protect yours? Here are some tools.
Yesterday Key actually ran the classic justification for “police state” surveillance: if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear. This argument is bollocks. Here’s why…
An Otago University academic and expert on computer security speaks out about the proposed new spy laws: “Surveilling the innocent – is that what we do to protect anyone or is that what we do in totalitarian society?”…
PM John Key reckons that there is no systemic problem with the security of the government’s data handling. He’s wrong – three separate incidents yesterday cap off a litany of recent breaches. Even Bill English now admits that the government cannot guarantee that public information is protected.
