Office of the Privacy Commissioner | Case Note 212548 [2010] NZ PrivCmr 11: Woman requests copy of responses she gave in a phone survey
A woman requested a copy of the responses she had given to a market research company as part of a phone survey.
The research company provided her with a copy of the factual responses she had given, including her age, gender, and location. However, it refused to provide her with a copy of the remainder of her responses on the basis that the opinions she had given were not personal information about her.
The woman made a complaint to our Office that the company had refused to provide all of the information she had requested.
Principle 6
Under principle 6 individuals have a right to request access to personal information held about them by an agency. Under the Privacy Act 'personal information' is defined as information about an identifiable individual.
It was our view that the responses the woman had given during the phone survey, including her opinions on a number of subjects, constituted personal information about her, and as such she was entitled to a copy of the record of the survey.
We contacted the research company and advised it of our view. Based on this the company agreed to provide the woman with a copy of the record of the phone survey, which included her responses, but which did not set out the questions asked.
The woman was satisfied with the information which was provided.
We closed our investigation on this basis.
June 2010
Request for personal information - market research - refusal - request for copy of responses to phone survey - meaning of 'personal information' - Privacy Act 1993 s. 2 - principle 6