Proposed Changes to New Zealand's Privacy Act

guest · Jul 9, 2018

Proposed Changes to New Zealand's Privacy Act
July 9, 2018
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/proposed-changes-to-new-zealand/

A new bill to repeal and replace the 1993 Privacy Act of New Zealand is awaiting approval. If the changes are accepted, the bill would mandate that public and private sector agencies notify affected individuals and the Privacy Commissioner when they experience a data breach that poses a risk of harm, according to Stuff.

First introduced on 20 March 2018, the bill is currently in select committee. According to Parliament, “Its key purpose is to promote people’s confidence that their personal information is secure and will be treated properly.”

The proposed Privacy Bill would allow for two types of complaints to be filed by an aggrieved individual or their representative. The first is a complaint alleging that an action of an agency has interfered with the privacy of an individual. The second is a public register complaint.
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mirimir · Jul 9, 2018

I wonder about government access. Consider Kim Dotcom. Would these changes help people in his situation, threatened by foreign adversaries? Or would they hurt them?

guest · Jun 26, 2020

New Zealand parliament passes Privacy Act 2020, a modernized privacy law
June 26, 2020
(PDF): https://www.privacy.org.nz/assets/Parliament-passes-bill-modernising-New-Zealands-privacy-laws-latest-v2.pdf

Privacy Commissioner John Edwards welcomed Parliament passing the Privacy Act 2020 with unanimous support.

The new Act replaces the 27-year-old Privacy Act 1993. Many of the changes are based on recommendations from the Law Commission’s comprehensive 2011 review of New Zealand’s privacy laws.

“The new Privacy Act provides a modernised framework to better protect New Zealanders’ privacy rights in today’s environment,” Mr Edwards said.
“I am grateful for the cross-party support of Parliament on this issue. It is an endorsement of the significance of privacy as a universal human right that the Bill was passed with the multi-
party support of the House.”
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Key reforms in the new Privacy Act include:

Mandatory notification of harmful privacy breaches

Introduction of compliance orders

Binding access determinations

Controls on the disclosure of information overseas

New criminal offences

Explicit application to businesses whether or not they have a legal or physicalpresence in New Zealand

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The Act comes into effect on 1 December 2020.
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New Zealand Parliament - Privacy Bill (proposed law)

This bill repeals and replaces the Privacy Act 1993, as recommended by the Law Commission's 2011 review of the Act. Its key purpose is to promote people's confidence that their personal information is secure and will be treated properly.
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guest · Jul 1, 2020

New Zealand: Significant changes to NZ’s Privacy Act - but where is the bite?
July 1, 2020
https://blogs.dlapiper.com/privacym...ges-to-nzs-privacy-act-but-where-is-the-bite/

After a lengthy process (dating as far back as 1998, depending on how you measure it) the Privacy Bill, which amends the Privacy Act 1993, has finally made its way through Parliament, receiving Royal Assent on 30 June 2020.
The amendments, which come into effect on 1 December 2020, introduce some of the most significant changes to New Zealand’s privacy law since the enactment of the Privacy Act, including:

mandatory data breach reporting;

restrictions on offshore transfers of personal information; and

clarifications on the extraterritorial scope of the Privacy Act.

However, Parliament has deliberately chosen not to align the Privacy Act with international precedent in terms of broader data subject rights or large fines for non-compliance. This means the Privacy Act remains a bit of a ‘toothless tiger’ relative to other global data protection laws.
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What’s missing?
The amendments give some limited additional powers to the Privacy Commissioner, such as the ability to issue compliance notices and demand release of personal information in certain circumstances. However, controversially, the amendments do not go as far as fully aligning the Privacy Act with other highly-publicised data protection laws such as the EU’s GDPR and California’s CCPA. Most notably:

the Privacy Commissioner does not have the ability to hand out the massive fines we have been seeing for privacy breaches in the UK, EU and USA; and

individuals do not have the same rights as data subjects in other countries, such as the ‘right to be forgotten’ or the right to data portability.

Whether this will impact New Zealand’s adequacy decision under GDPR, or otherwise affect data flows between us and our major trading partners, remains to be seen.
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guest · Oct 21, 2020

New Zealand
Office of the Privacy Commissioner launches privacy breach reporting tool
October 19, 2020
https://www.privacy.org.nz/news-and...ioner-launches-privacy-breach-reporting-tool/

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) has today launched NotifyUs—a new online tool enabling businesses and organisations to easily assess whether a privacy breach is notifiable.

Under the Privacy Act 2020—which comes into effect on 1 December—it will be mandatory for organisations to notify OPC if a privacy breach has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm. Businesses and organisations which fail to report a notifiable privacy breach to OPC may receive fines of up to $10,000.
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Privacy Commissioner John Edwards says NotifyUs will help organisations determine whether a breach has caused, or could cause, serious harm, and guide them through the reporting process.

“We want the privacy breach pre-assessment and reporting process to be straightforward,” says Mr Edwards. “NotifyUs has undergone extensive testing ahead of today’s launch to ensure the guidance is clear and easy to follow. I encourage people to use it in advance of the new legislation taking effect on 1 December.”
Visit NotifyUs.
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guest · Nov 1, 2020

‘Privacy is precious’ campaign for Privacy Week
October 30, 2020
https://www.privacy.org.nz/news-and...rivacy-is-precious-campaign-for-privacy-week/

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is launching the ‘Privacy is precious’ campaign today to coincide with Privacy Week, running from 2-6 November 2020.

The national advertising campaign highlights the importance of protecting personal information and promotes the key changes in the Privacy Act 2020, which takes effect on 1 December.
Privacy Week heralds the transition to the new law, which gives people better privacy protections, and organisations and businesses greater obligations when handling personal information. The new Act also gives the Privacy Commissioner greater powers to ensure organisations and businesses comply with the Act.
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The Office of the Privacy Commissioner has produced resources and guidance to help people and organisations understand what’s changing in the Privacy Act.
Visit the ‘Privacy is precious’ campaign page.

Key changes in the Privacy Act 2020 include: [...]
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guest · Nov 30, 2020

New Zealand Privacy Act: Updated data breach legislation comes into effect tomorrow
November 30, 2020
https://portswigger.net/daily-swig/...breach-legislation-comes-into-effect-tomorrow

New privacy laws will come into force across New Zealand tomorrow (December 1) as authorities tighten rules regarding data protection.

The Privacy Act 2020 will mandate that organizations must report “serious” data breaches immediately if there is a “risk of harm”.
These rules apply to any data handlers based in New Zealand, as well as any overseas organizations that carry out business or collect data relating to New Zealand citizens.

The new law will replace the Privacy Act 1993.
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Businesses will be expected to appoint a privacy officer to oversee the compliance process and deal with any issues that arise.
They will liaise with the privacy regulator in the event of any breach of personal data, and will be responsible for issuing a report.

This is similar to Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which also mandates that a privacy officer should be appointed to monitor internal compliance.
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guest · Dec 1, 2020

New Zealand's Refreshed Privacy Act Takes Effect
Includes New Breach Notification Requirements, Fines and Greater Regulatory Powers
December 1, 2020
https://www.databreachtoday.com/new-zealands-refreshed-privacy-act-takes-effect-a-15480

New Zealand's refreshed Privacy Act, which came into effect Tuesday, introduces breach notification requirements and civil penalties. It also holds data handlers to higher responsibilities to counter new threats to personal data.

The Privacy Act 2020 replaces the Privacy Act 1993. It was approved by New Zealand's Parliament in June after several years of discussion.

"The new act brings with it a wider range of enforcement tools to encourage best practice, which means we are now able to take a different approach to the way we work as a regulator," says New Zealand Privacy Commissioner John Edwards.
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While a maximum penalty NZ$10,000 fine seems low, there is a sting in the tail, writes John Martin, a senior security architect with IBM New Zealand.

"The Office of the Privacy Commissioner can make an official complaint to the Human Rights Tribunal, which may take a bit longer to go to court and be heard," Martin writes. But this has a maximum penalty of NZ$230,000 and all the publicity that will go with it."
New Regulatory Powers
Under the new law, individuals have a new right for access to personal information held by an organization.
If an organization refuses a valid request, the privacy commissioner can issue an access direction.

The act also states that businesses should consider how they collect data from children and whether it is fair given that kids may not realize the implications of divulging certain kinds of data.
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Privacy Act 2020 comes into force

New Zealand’s Privacy Act 2020 has come into force.
The new law affords New Zealanders better privacy protections, and organisations and businesses greater obligations when handling personal information. The new Act also gives the Privacy Commissioner greater powers to ensure organisations and businesses comply with the Act.
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