OPC has teamed up with South Auckland community initiative UpSouth for this year’s Privacy Week (13-17 May).

Upsouth is a crowd empowerment platform with thousands of young users aged 15-24, the majority of whom are Māori and Pasifika. The website gives local youth the opportunity to generate creative thoughts, ideas and commentary on important issues in their community.

Groups such as councils, local boards, corporates or community organisations create “call-ups” on Upsouth and users then make submissions to answer the question at hand. The responses can be through text, artwork, videos, or however users see fit. Submitted content can then be upvoted by other website users and content creators have the chance to earn money from their ideas.

For this year’s Privacy Week, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner asked Upsouth users:

“How do you feel about sharing your personal information?”

We had some awesome responses and below are a few of our favourites:

 “I am a teenager who uses social media…Regardless of whether or not something is "public" you shouldn't be posting or sending things you wouldn't do in real life. I also have to be aware that the image I portray online is the image many people will see when they think of me.”

- Rosa

“I think it is important to keep your private information private, as you never know when something you've said, done, or posted could hinder you in the future.

-Maria Tarrant

“Social media should be talked about more in school. They should talk about who you’re allowing to see your personal stuff.”

-Vika Masunu 

“Not every part of your private life needs to be public' this quote although short and simple is super true. especially nowadays where anyone can get access to your information in a few short clicks on the internet. being low key and private doesn't mean you're not up to big things - just cause you don't post it doesn't mean you're not doing it, you don't want to be THAT person who posts every second of their life to social media.”

-Julia

We also liked this picture from Mehar:

New Zealand Privacy Commissioner John Edwards says, “We’re proud to work with Upsouth to gain a youth perspective on sharing personal information online and on social media. Online privacy is an issue that affect virtually every New Zealander but particularly young people. We, as a privacy regulator, should do all we can to educate young kiwis about how they can keep their data secure online. It’s great to see these young people stay vigilant with the information they share on the internet.”

It's been another amazing Privacy Week with well-attended events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Thanks to all the Upsouth users who submitted content - we appreciate you!

Thumbnail image credit: Joshua from Upsouth

Privacy Week, cybersecurity