There are many unanswered questions about how technologies are being used, why they are necessary, and whether they risk infringing on human rights or privacy, write Andrew Chen and Kristiann Allen. The idea of “emergence”, in a philosophical sense, is the notion that a system can have properties, behaviours and naturally forming rules or patterns … Read more
Without a strong legal and ethical framework and clear policy for use, FRT can have grave implications for individual and collective rights, writes Nessa Lynch. Automated facial recognition technology, which involves the use of an algorithm to match a facial image to one already stored in a system, is used in automated passport control and … Read more
The leak, we discovered last night, was the work of a first-term MP and a veteran National Party operator. What does it mean for the pair, and for the party, asks Ben Thomas. The latest whodunit in New Zealand politics was solved last night in a flurry of releases, as National’s Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker … Read more
The official contact tracing app, released to aid in the fight against Covid-19, is now available for download. So what does it do, what’s good about it, and what are the problems? What’s all this then? As of last night, the government has an official contact tracing app. It’s called NZ COVID Tracer, and is … Read more
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
In these testing times, we’re all spending a fair amount of time on our phones and computers. Here are some simple ways to make that time safer for yourself. As if we weren’t all indoors on our phones enough already, Covid-19 is ensuring that our screen time is going to be through the roof. That’s … Read more
The Gen Z-targeted mobile application TikTok is finally being noticed by adults. But what is it? Here’s a quick explainer. What is TikTok? TikTok was the most-downloaded app in the Apple store last year. It’s a mish-mash of the deceased Musical.ly and Vine, with over 500 million active users. The app allows you to film … Read more
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
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Govt rejects idea to ban petrol car imports in 2035, firefighters say they’re facing a workforce crisis, and Tamihere pledges rate freeze. A strange sort of stoush erupted at the end of last week around petrol and diesel car sales. On Friday, Newsroom reported that the ministry of … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Tax break for oil rigs raises subsidy questions, crackdown by police against Ihumātao occupation, and Boris Johnson set to become UK PM. A story about tax breaks for oil rigs has shown how difficult disentangling from the fossil fuels industry will be. Writing on Stuff, Henry Cooke … Read more
A report into the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) revealed that the means of investigating benefit fraud, in particular, the relationship statuses of beneficiaries, infringed on their right to privacy. The Spinoff explains what the investigation is all about, and why it matters. Why was there an investigation? In 2018 the Privacy Commissioner heard concerns … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Quiet fight over Central Otago mine roars into the headlines, Christchurch call summit gets agreement signed, and allegations made of widespread Uni cheating. This story has been building for a long time, but coverage has stepped up significantly in the past month, so it’s worth covering … Read more
Our privacy law is the operating system for how organisations handle our information, and it affects each of us every day, writes James Ting-Edwards of InternetNZ New Zealand’s privacy law is finally, finally going to get an update. In a year that’s seen a range of big stories on big privacy threats, that’s good news. There … Read more
Big changes are coming to how companies that operate in Europe collect data. Dave Parry says failure to adopt practices that safeguard privacy could risk New Zealand’s reputation. Over the past couple of weeks, you may have noticed that Facebook, Twitter, Gmail and all your other favourite internet sites have had a pop up mentioning … Read more
Should you delete your Facebook page? In many important ways it doesn’t matter what you decide, writes Sophie Bateman for Newshub. In 2004, when college student Mark Zuckerberg launched thefacebook.com, he could hardly have known the global juggernaut his website would become. Fast-forward to 2018 and Facebook is in the middle of its biggest ever … Read more
By all means delete the app if you like, but to really strike back against a company that has appears to be indifferent to our privacy laws, we should look to a more powerful tool at our disposal, the law itself, writes Marianne Elliott In news that should take absolutely nobody by surprise, the Office of … Read more
John Edwards, the NZ privacy commissioner, explains why he has determined Facebook to be non-compliant with the New Zealand Privacy Act – and why he deleted the app. I’ve been on Facebook for nearly 10 years. I wasn’t that keen on it at first, as I kept getting pestered by digital agriculturalists using the needy Farmville … Read more
Good news – troops on deployment all around the world are keeping up their physical fitness and now we have proof! Bad news – troops on deployment all around the world are jogging with their fitness trackers turned on, drawing a helpful map of where they are. But former TUANZ boss Paul Brislen says we … Read more
Is there any such thing as privacy in the age of social media and smart phones? Exciting new YA thriller novelist LJ Ritchie talks to author Nicky Hager about the realities – and unjustified fears – of state surveillance. LJ Ritchie: One question that often comes up in discussions on surveillance is, “If I’m not doing anything wrong, why … Read more
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