Don’t give NZ Police the power to film your kids without legal protections
The Privacy Commissioner says a bill empowering police to gather intelligence needs stricter limits because “we’ve seen this all before”.
The public has until Wednesday to make submissions on the Policing Amendment Bill.
Michael Webster said in a statement on Monday that the bill’s impacts on privacy seem to have largely passed most New Zealanders by.
In 2022, an inquiry found police were taking photos of young Māori for no lawful policing purpose and it was not clear how the new bill would not allow a repeat of this.
“As Privacy Commissioner, I have deep concerns about the bill’s implications, especially for Māori, because we’ve seen this all before.
“This bill will authorise the police to video and record people when they are out in public and I’d like people to think about how they’d expect police to be using this power.”
The bill passed its first reading last month.
RNZ
All these people who use the mantra “well if you are doing nothing wrong and obeying the law, then you should have nothing to fear” – be very careful what you wish for