Nouvelle-Zélande: publication d'un rapport concernant la réforme du Privacy Act 1993

La Law Commission vient de publier son rapport concernant la réforme du Privacy Act 1993. Ainsi on peut lire sur le site de la Commission du droit que:  

" The Law Commission today completed its landmark review of privacy law with the publication of its final report, 'Review of the Privacy Act 1993: Review of the Law of Privacy Stage 4.'

The report, which calls for new powers for the Privacy Commissioner, is the fourth in the Commission’s four-stage review of New Zealand’s privacy laws.

The report focuses on the Privacy Act 1993. Overall, the Commission believes the main principles of the Act remain sound. Rather than setting strict rules, the Act is based on privacy principles that can be applied flexibly to suit an agency’s particular circumstances. The Commission supports this principles-based approach, which also allows the Act to remain relevant as technology changes.

The Commission thinks the Act could be improved in a number of areas. Among the key recommendations of the report are that:

- the Privacy Commissioner’s powers should be augmented by a  new power to issue compliance notices, and, where there is a good reason for it, to require an audit of an agency’s information-handling practices;

- the complaints process under the Act should be streamlined in a number of respects, including giving the Privacy Commissioner the power to make binding decisions on complaints about people’s right to access their own personal information;

- agencies should be required to notify people when personal information held by an agency is lost or otherwise compromised (for example, through computer hacking), if the breach is sufficiently serious;

- there should be a new framework in the Act to allow the sharing of personal information between government agencies where it is in the public interest to do so, but with appropriate safeguards; and

- some exceptions to the privacy principles should be modified, for example to clarify that people can pass on information to an appropriate person where someone’s health is seriously at risk, or report suspected offending to the police."

(Source: Law Commission - Review of Privacy, August 2, 2011)

Pour plus de détails, voir notamment:

• LAW COMMISSION, " NZLC R123 Review of the Privacy Act 1993: Review of the Law of Privacy Stage 4", August 2, 2011.
• PRIVACY COMMISSIONER, "Media Release - Law Commission's package of privacy reforms would built trust and certainty" August 2, 2011.