In 1996, the Customs Act was passed. This Act gave front line officers their powers to protect our borders, including powers to search people when they cross the border.

Today we’re issuing a policy on giving “Advisory Opinions”. For agencies unsure of what they can and can’t do with personal information under the Privacy Act, we might be prepared to commit, in advance, to advising how we’d look at the issue.

In 2012, Wired writer Mat Honan had his entire online life hacked. His Apple ID password was reset. His Gmail password was reset. His Twitter password was reset. His iPhone, iPad and MacBook were all remotely wiped using Apple’s “Find My” tool – the tool that locates and gives remote access to your various iDevices.

Today we’re pleased to celebrate Right to Know Day by releasing a new online tool – AboutMe. AboutMe is a tool designed to help people request their personal information from agencies. The tool asks people for the key details that are required, then drafts a standardised email based on the responses.

Should consumers have a right to demand the transfer of their personal information from one online provider to another of their choice? The Privacy Commissioner this week released survey results that showed a majority (56 percent) of New Zealanders consider the ability to transfer personal information between social network or cloud services as important or very important.

Privacy Week is right around the corner! As you may have seen, we have a pretty busy lineup of activity planned, from privacy forums in Auckland and Wellington, privacy artwork, New Zealand’s  first Right to Know Day and more.  

Online privacy is a big area of concern. We know it and, according to the latest World Internet Project New Zealand research on Internet use in New Zealand, the public is aware of it and worries more about online tracking by companies than by the government.

If you’re not familiar with school directories, here’s how they work: at the beginning of a school year, some schools publish directories with contact details for each student and his/her parents. That directory is then distributed to each parent. Parents who need to contact one another how have a directory to aid them in doing so. Easy.