Office of the Privacy Commissioner - Latest News [Page 1]
Christmas Is About Giving, But Don’t Give Up Your Privacy
Thursday, 19 December 2024, 10:23 am | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
Christmas shopping can be stressful, it’s time dependent and unfortunately scammers can take advantage of people through fake online shopping sites, or scam emails about parcel deliveries or special offers. More >>
Privacy Commissioner Announces Intent To Issue Biometrics Code
Wednesday, 18 December 2024, 11:27 am | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
The Privacy Act regulates the use of personal information in New Zealand, including biometric information, but biometrics needs special protections especially in specific circumstances. More >>
No One Should Be Happy We Received Over 1000 Privacy Complaints
Tuesday, 3 December 2024, 10:19 am | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
Over the last financial year, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner received 864 privacy breach notifications and 414 of these were serious. More >>
Global Privacy Authorities Issue Follow-up Joint Statement On Data Scraping After Industry Engagement
Wednesday, 30 October 2024, 5:29 pm | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
The discussions between industry representatives and data protection authorities enabled all parties to further examine issues related to data scraping. More >>
Camera Creep/s Causing Concern
Tuesday, 22 October 2024, 10:18 am | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
"Can I record someone without telling them", is the number one question people searched for in the Office of the Privacy Commissioner’s Ask Us database over the last year. More >>
Police Well On The Way To Compliance; One Critical Step Remains
Thursday, 17 October 2024, 1:08 pm | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster says, "I’d like to acknowledge the significant work Police has done in the past two years to complete most of the notice requirements. More >>
Ignoring A Privacy Breach Only Makes It Worse
Thursday, 26 September 2024, 1:11 pm | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
Mr Webster said, "My recommendation is for agencies to notify us and do it early, even if they're not 100 percent sure a privacy breach has occurred, or don’t yet have all the details. More >>
Privacy Commissioner's Comment On FRT Trial
Wednesday, 25 September 2024, 8:37 am | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
The Commissioner announced his Inquiry into FRT use in 25 supermarkets in April this year after Foodstuffs North Island sought to use FRT to help reduce retail crime. More >>
Here’s What New Zealanders Have Said So Far About Draft Rules For Biometrics
Wednesday, 7 August 2024, 9:38 am | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
The Office publicly released draft rules for using biometrics for consultation in May and received 250 submissions from members of the public, businesses, government agencies and advocacy organisations giving their view. More >>
Privacy Week 2024: New Survey Reveals New Zealanders’ Privacy Concerns
Monday, 13 May 2024, 9:42 am | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
A biennial privacy survey of New Zealanders was released today to mark the start of Privacy Week 2024. More >>
New Survey Shows We All Need To Sharpen Up About Privacy Risks For Kids
Wednesday, 17 April 2024, 10:15 am | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
Concern about social media use was one of the three themes raised by experts and agencies working directly with children. The three key themes were: - Social media is a major concern, and a combination of guidance and regulatory changes are needed ... More >>
Kiwis Asked To Have Their Say On New Draft Rules For Using Biometrics
Wednesday, 10 April 2024, 9:10 am | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner has developed draft rules for the use of biometric technologies and is now asking what people think of those. Biometrics is the automated processing of physical and behavioural characteristics (face scans, ... More >>
Inquiry Into Foodstuffs North Island’s FRT Trial Starts Today
Thursday, 4 April 2024, 1:49 pm | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
The Inquiry will monitor the privacy and data protection safeguards and controls stores have in place, how they are being used in practice and whether they are sufficient to manage risks. More >>
New Zealanders More Concerned Than Excited By AI
Wednesday, 13 March 2024, 10:59 am | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
New research shows that New Zealanders have privacy concerns about the use of AI, especially because it’s seen as unregulated and can be used for malicious purposes. In the research, almost half of respondents were more concerned than excited about ... More >>
Greater Penalties Needed: Privacy Commissioner Speaks To National Cyber Security Summit
Thursday, 7 March 2024, 1:20 pm | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
The Privacy Commissioner, speaking at today’s National Cyber Security Summit in Wellington, has called for greater penalties for data breaches. This comes on the back of two major research studies that indicate widespread support, including from ... More >>
Privacy Commissioner To Keep A Close Eye On Foodstuffs North Island FRT Trial
Thursday, 8 February 2024, 8:46 am | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster will use his inquiry powers to keep a close eye on the facial recognition technology (FRT) trial that Foodstuffs North Island is starting on Thursday 8 February. The use of biometric technologies (which FRT ... More >>
New Zealand Is ‘adequate’, And We Couldn’t Be Happier About It
Tuesday, 23 January 2024, 9:55 am | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
The European Commission has determined that New Zealand has an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred from the European Union. Essentially ‘adequacy’ says that our legislation isn’t the same as Europe’s, but its outcomes are similar ... More >>
Privacy Commissioner To Consult On New Rules For Biometrics
Thursday, 23 November 2023, 10:35 am | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
The Privacy Commissioner has announced that his Office will be consulting on new rules specifically for biometrics. Biometrics are increasingly collected by facial recognition technology (FRT), retinal scans, and voice recognition. Michael Webster, ... More >>
CCTV And School Bathrooms A Privacy Issue
Tuesday, 10 October 2023, 10:54 am | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
Schools concerned about behaviour in their bathrooms have been calling the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) asking about their options for using CCTV. Schools want to know if they can install Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) networks in children ... More >>
AI Tools And The Privacy Act: Commissioner Issues New Guidance
Thursday, 21 September 2023, 10:05 am | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster will today outline how New Zealanders using AI tools can ensure they’re meeting their obligations under the Privacy Act 2020. "Thinking about privacy is vital if you’re going to use AI tools well. "The ... More >>