While the March 15 terrorist was not on the intelligence agencies’ radar, Haamid Ben Fayed has been. He hopes the inquiry will be a chance to address the systemic discrimination faced by Muslims in this country – but, as he tells Jo Malcolm, he doesn’t hold out much hope for change. Haamid Ben Fayed thinks … Read more
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
Staff members have been keeping a record of the University of Auckland’s online mentions, writes Daniel Meech, co-editor of student magazine Craccum. Documents released under the Official Information Act show that the University of Auckland has been tracking students on social media for several months. The university appears to have used this information to gain … Read more
There is little to separate the methods of Zhenhua Data from those of the Peter Thiel founded Palantir, which has an office in Wellington alongside our spy agencies. It comes down to whether data-collection activities are seen as good or bad depending on who does it and under what circumstances, writes Paul Buchanan. News that … Read more
Neatly sidestepping spoilers, Briar Lawry of Little Unity reviews Pip Adam’s new and widely lauded novel, Nothing to See. “How do you even review a Pip Adam book?” a colleague asked. “She’s too nice!” “She is,” I agreed, “but luckily her books are always brilliant.” In all honesty, I said this having barely started Nothing … Read more
Hannah McGowan, who has lived on a benefit for most of the past 20 years, responds to the news that WINZ has been accessing the private communications of beneficiaries. Last month I outlined my situation as a welfare recipient and the ongoing effects of WINZ policies on my working and personal life. Essentially, if I … Read more
We should think very carefully before making changes to laws that will affect civil liberties, writes Thomas Beagle As the initial shock and horror of the Christchurch mosque massacre begins to subside, people naturally turn to the question “How could this happen?” How did the perpetrator become radicalised? And how did our intelligence agencies miss … Read more
The revelation in 2009 that Green MP Keith Locke had been spied on since age 11 caused an uproar and prompted an inquiry into SIS surveillance. Now, he writes, the SIS has been forced to apologise for calling him ‘a threat’ in internal documents. Last April I received a letter from Rebecca Kitteridge, the director … Read more
The list of state agencies using these private investigators to spy on lawful protesters continues to grow, and it is an assault on democracy, writes Frances Mountier. I was distressed to learn last month that a government owned company, Southern Response, had been using private investigators Thompson & Clark to spy on victims of the … Read more
The American foreign intelligence bureau yesterday posted online for the first time millions of pages of declassified documents. Toby Manhire scrolls through some of the intel published on New Zealand The Central Intelligence Agency is America’s foreign spook outfit, famous for interfering in other countries’ elections, complaining about other countries interfering in US elections and … 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
To mark the release of a new online film about intelligence agencies and privacy, seven New Zealand artists reflect on self-censorship in the surveillance age. As many as 11% of Yahoo Chat conversations involve naked participants. That is what British surveillance agency GCHQ discovered while testing their surveillance powers in the operation “Optic Nerve”. While … Read more
Following an acclaimed showing at the Venice Biennale, Simon Denny’s politically charged Secret Power is now on view at Te Papa. Henry Oliver spoke to investigative journalist Nicky Hager about his role as special adviser on the exhibition. I met Nicky Hager last year on the Golden Staircase of the Marciana Library in Piazzetta San … 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