The New Zealand Government is planning to bolster its data privacy laws by requiring individuals to be notified when their data is transferred or sold to third parties.  

Organizations and institutions currently require permission to collect information from New Zealand’s citizens. However, they have no obligations regarding the subsequent sharing of that data.

The Ministry of Justice has proposed amendments to address this loophole. With Justice Minister Kiri Allan presenting a paper to the Cabinet in April outlining the government’s intentions.  

NZ Government improves Data privacy laws

The paper highlights that while the sharing of information between entities can have legitimate purposes. There have been concerns about motives such as Facebook sharing information with data brokers who may then sell it to advertisers. 

The proposed amendments mandate third parties receiving the data must notify the individuals whose data is being shared. With some exceptions for national security or publicly available information.

“It is good that they are going to do something about this,” Koi Tū research fellow Andrew Chen said in an interview with Newsroom. 

“I think there’s probably still some debate about the detail of the changes. What they’ve gone with is that the collecting agency has to do the notification. I can see why that makes sense. I submitted that the disclosing agency should be the one that has to do the notification. Given that they have the data and they probably have a notification system in place already.”  

New Zealand’s decision to revise its data privacy laws was influenced by a review of its compliance with EU privacy regulations. The legislation will be introduced before the parliamentary election recess and is expected to be implemented by early 2025.  

The New Zealand Government’s data management protocols aim to strengthen data privacy laws. This will also ensure individuals are informed about the transfer and use of their data. 

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

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