1 Feb 2005, 09:00

A man was rescued from a National Park by a search and rescue team. After his rescue he was approached by the director of a film crew who informed him that his rescue had been filmed for a documentary about the SAR team at the national park.

The documentary makers had established clear filming protocols to ensure filming methods would not interfere with any rescue operation and obtained releases from anyone who was filmed during the making of the documentary. A number of signs around the park also advised that there was a documentary being filmed and in the event a climber was rescued it was likely they would be filmed.

The man was initially unaware that his rescue had been filmed and subsequently declined to sign an appearance release form. Therefore, the footage relating to him was not used in the documentary.

The man considered the filming of his rescue was an invasion of his privacy that raised issues under information privacy principles 3 (collection of information from the individual) and 4 (unfair means of collection).

NEWS ACTIVITIES EXEMPTION

The information privacy principles in the Privacy Act apply to “agencies”. The Act provides that a “news medium”, in relation to its “news activities”, is an agency for the purposes of the information privacy principles. Section 2 of the Act states:

agency— (a)Means any person or body of persons, whether corporate or unincorporate, and whether in the public sector or the private sector; and, for the avoidance of doubt, includes a Department; but (b)Does not include— (xiii)In relation to its news activities, any news medium.

news medium means any agency whose business, or part of whose business, consists of a news activity; but, in relation to principles 6 and 7, does not include [Radio New Zealand Limited or] Television New Zealand Limited.

news activity means— (a)The gathering of news, or the preparation or compiling of articles or programmes of or concerning news, observations on news, or current affairs, for the purposes of dissemination to the public or any section of the public: (b)The dissemination, to the public or any section of the public, of any article or programme of or concerning— (i)News: (ii)Observations on news: (iii)Current affairs:

I considered that the film crew was preparing a programme concerning current affairs when it made its documentary about the SAR team. I also considered that this was done for the purpose of disseminating the information to the public through the documentary.

I was therefore satisfied that in collecting the information to make the documentary, the film crew was a news medium acting in relation to its news activities and that principles 3 and 4 did not apply to it.

I closed my file after advising the parties of my opinion.

March 2005

Indexing terms: Collecting personal information – documentary film crew – “agency”, “news medium”, “news activity” – Privacy Act 1993, section 2 – Information Privacy Principles 3 & 4.