Policy and Technology – striving for a perfect match with better outcomes

Kia ora e te whānau

As signalled in last month’s newsletter, DINZ’s submission to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner’s consultation paper on Biometrics did proceed to plan, and we were grateful to receive OPC’s thanks and acknowledgement of the work put in by our special interest group of DINZ members. Read and note our conclusions as to the adequacy of the Privacy Act in the field of biometrics, the challenge of the limited scope of OPC’s mandate and the need for more structured guidance and targeted compliance before defaulting to all-encompassing legislative intervention – perhaps preemptively.  

As biometrics continues to dominate domestic headlines in the context of law enforcement, I am reminded of Ann Cavoukian’s 7 principles of Privacy by Design, notably Principle 4; ‘Full Functionality — Positive-Sum, not Zero-Sum. Privacy by Design seeks to accommodate all legitimate interests and objectives in a positive-sum “win-win” manner, not through a dated, zero-sum approach, where unnecessary trade-offs are made. Privacy by Design avoids the pretense of false dichotomies, such as privacy vs. security, demonstrating that it is possible to have both’. Let’s be honest. It’s not always easy to achieve, but if a combination of actions and processes that derive from the 7 principles (or others such as those IPPs in the Privacy Act) can be agreed upon and transparently operated, the right balance can be found. That is what we expectantly hope for as the parties work it out – as I’m confident they will.

The other great piece of mahi emerging from DINZ over the past month is this Research and Discussion Paper produced by the leads of the Inclusive and Ethical Uses of Digital Identity working group. Its purpose is to set a baseline from which the real mahi of this member group can build from. The topic area has a range of interwoven themes involving policy, society and culture and the group is keen to target one or more aspects where the development of good practice can positively impact outcomes. If it was easy other groups would have resolved it by now! So please read the paper and feed back your comments and interest in participating.    

As with all significant mahi produced in the past year, go to Our Work on our website and browse.

Lastly, watch out for a slew of Event announcements coming soon. The report that integrates DINZ’s general public and business attitudinal research results into the landscape in which digital identity operates in Aotearoa, is nearly complete. The report and its highlights will be showcased at events planned for later in November.

Meanwhile members, don’t forget the annual elections for the Executive Council. There’s still time to nominate yourself or someone else. And get out to vote!

Ngā mihi nui,

Colin and the DINZ Executive Council

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