Busting Myths - Privacy Amendment Bill

Wednesday 15 May, 2024

The Privacy Amendment Bill aims to provide greater transparency for individuals whose personal information is being collected indirectly by third party organisations. Under the current law, individuals do not necessarily know which organisations hold their personal information.

Let’s bust some myths about the Privacy Amendment Bill in New Zealand:

The Privacy Amendment Bill introduces drastic changes to privacy laws

Reality: The Bill is more of an update than an overhaul. It amends the Privacy Act 2020 to improve transparency and better enable individuals to exercise their privacy rights, particularly concerning the indirect collection of personal information.

The changes will be burdensome for agencies to comply with

Reality: While the Bill introduces a new notification obligation for agencies collecting personal information indirectly, it also includes practical exceptions to ensure efficient administration for example, if individuals have been previously notified by an organisation that it holds their personal information, they do not need to be notified again when their information is next collected.

The amendments proposed by the Bill are only relevant to New Zealand

Reality: While the Bill is specific to New Zealand, it aligns the country’s privacy laws with both EU regulation and international best practices. This has implications for international businesses and cross-border data flows.

The Bill will restrict business operations

Reality: The purpose of the Bill is not to hinder business but to ensure that personal information is collected and used transparently. This can actually aid businesses by building trust with consumers and ensuring compliance with international best practices.

Personal information will be less secure

Reality: The Bill aims to enhance the security and privacy of personal information by updating New Zealand’s privacy laws in line with international standards. It’s about improving the safeguards, not weakening them.

Individuals will not notice any difference

Reality: The Bill makes it a requirement for agencies to notify individuals when their personal information is collected indirectly. This means individuals will be more informed about who holds their personal information and for what purpose.

The Privacy Amendment Bill is a step towards enhancing transparency and protecting the privacy rights of individuals by informing them about how their personal information is used.

If you would like to discuss the changes being made by the Privacy Amendment Bill and how these might affect you, or if you have any other questions in relation to privacy issues, please contact one of our experts below.