John EdwardsJohn Edwards

John Edwards is the NZ Privacy Commissioner.

Even in extraordinary times, the right to privacy remains

by

Like many other of our rights and liberties, privacy has been upended by Covid-19. Privacy commissioner John Edwards looks at the hard choices we’re about to face. Privacy was described in a seminal 1890 essay as “the right to be let alone”. Now, in April 2020, we find ourselves instead obliged to stay alone. The … Read more

Dwarfed by the digital giants, here’s how we can make our voice heard

by

There is a profound asymmetry in the power dynamic between offshore tech companies like Google, Facebook and Viagogo and a domestic regulator in a country like New Zealand. But that doesn’t render us impotent, argues the privacy commissioner, John Edwards Last year in Auckland, a young English backpacker, Grace Millane hooked up with a man … Read more

Transgender self-identification: why it’s a human right

by

In the debate around the right to self-identify, the dignity of the individual should be a cornerstone, writes NZ Privacy Commissioner John Edwards Should transgender people have the right to change official documents to record their sense of identity? This question is attaining increasing prominence, following the recommendation by a parliamentary committee that a statutory … Read more

The good and not so good of the new GCSB bill – and a word on that ‘cheerleader clown’ thing

by

Privacy commissioner John Edwards assesses the newly drafted Intelligence and Security legislation, and responds to Kim Dotcom’s suggestion he’s a government lackey and ‘clown’ Until last night I was unfamiliar with the commissioning process for pieces for The Spinoff. Mine came in the form of a Twitter direct message. “John! fancy writing us a post … Read more