New bill will make GCSB Big Brother
New Zealand could become a surveillance state if the GCSB Bill is passed, privacy campaigner and lawyer warn.
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Hawke’s Bay
New Zealand could become a surveillance state if the GCSB Bill is passed.
IT privacy expert Thomas Beagle is concerned that the bill will allow the spy agency to collect and store data about every New Zealand citizen via information obtained from phone calls and emails.
“We’re expecting them to access authorisations for all the major telecommunications companies and internet providers to see what you’re doing online what sort of phone calls you’re getting who from, when and so on and they’re not just interested in you the whole point is they’re interested in everyone they want to watch everyone,” he said.
Lawyer Rodney Harrison is not only concerned with the bill allowing the possibility of private citizen’s information being sourced without warrant, but that the information could end up in the hands of foreign governments.
“The powers of interception and collection are far too wide but there’s nothing in the bill to deal with use of the data when collected and where it might end up here or overseas.”
“I can say that it definitely will end up in the hands of the other partners in the five eyes partnership including the U.S and the United Kingdom,” said Dr Harrison.
He said New Zealand is now facing a similar situation to the 1980s when it had to decide whether it went with its allies’ nuclear policies or go its own way.
“Publicly we need a national conversation about the sort of society we want, do we want to follow the lead of our major security partners because if it’s in our best interests and become a surveillance society that has all matter of information and data harvested and stored forever? Or do we want like the nuclear free issue to go our own way and apply New Zealand values,” said Dr Harrison.
NBR staff
Sun, 28 Jul 2013
Sun, 28 Jul 2013
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New bill will make GCSB Big Brother
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