26 August – 1 September 2007

‘Privacy Pollution’ erodes choices

Small, incremental intrusions into personal privacy can combine to erode private space, thoughts and choices, Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff says.

“I am NOT talking about a few spam emails or telemarketing calls.

“The issue is the combination of spam, unwanted sales calls, CCTV in the supermarket, at the petrol station, in the video shop, on the street and at the bank. Our transactions are recorded, stored and shared. Our behaviour is silently recorded on camera.

“I call this ‘privacy pollution’, similar to air pollution where small blots of contamination build to form blankets of smog. In themselves, they are relatively minor – specks of soot or puffs of smoke – but in combination, the effect can be overpowering,” Mrs Shroff said today at a Privacy Awareness Week forum, ‘Privacy and Technology in the 21st Century.

Intrusions such as telemarketing calls were offensive to many people because they came without invitation into our personal space and time, she said.

The New Zealand Marketing Association voluntarily maintained a ‘Name Removal Service’, but some countries, notably the United States and Australia, had introduced statutory ‘Do Not Call’ registers.

“There have been calls for the New Zealand Government to establish a ‘Do Not Call’ regime. I expect to look into this possibility further, and will be watching the Australian initiative with interest,” she said.

Mrs Shroff said that while new technology brought huge benefits, it presented new challenges that could be complex to resolve.

She said despite increasing levels of privacy pollution she remained an optimist. “I think we can do something about it. But it will take people of knowledge and goodwill to identify invasions, speak up, and to take action.”

The half day forum also included specialist presentations on privacy and technology issues including online intellectual property infringement, abuse of radio frequency identification technology (RFID), mobile phone security, involvement of international criminal organisations in commercial malware (software designed to infiltrate or damage computers), internet safety for children and adults, and the role of Privacy Impact Assessments in new technology.

ENDS

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