Sleepwalking into a surveillance society
Pastor Dale Morgan
Thursday, 12 Apr 2007
*New Zealand* *Sleepwalking into a surveillance society*
New Zealand risks descending into a surveillance society like Britain
where people are continually monitored as they work, shop and move
around, privacy watchdogs warn.
AN AVERAGE KIWI'S DAILY ELECTRONIC FOOTPRINT
"This huge information technology revolution we are living through is
exciting. Many amazing and useful things can be done. Beyond useful -
lifesaving," New Zealand's privacy commissioner, Marie Shroff, says.
"But what we should do is take a look at how the technology is being used."
In Britain, reputedly the most spied upon country, information
commissioner Richard Thomas has repeatedly warned people they are
"sleepwalking into a surveillance society".
Twenty per cent of the world's CCTV cameras are in Britain - one for
every 12 people.
The average person can be caught on CCTV 300 times a day. An innovation
about to be piloted in 20 areas is talking cameras, enabling anyone
misbehaving to be told off by a loudspeaker.
Ms Shroff told The Dominion Post New Zealand could expect to follow the
same track. "What happens in the UK is probably going to happen here
tomorrow," she said. "We're the same sort of society."
The erosion of privacy comes as databases are compiled, bought and sold
by companies, political parties and government departments.
Technological advances allow employers, local authorities and shops to
monitor staff, ratepayers and customers.
Cellphones, loyalty programmes, vehicle registrations and even
microchipped pets are potential sources of information about people's lives.
Kiwis appear to be increasingly worried about surveillance. In the
Privacy Commission's 2006 survey, 56 per cent of respondents were
concerned about individual privacy, up from 47 per cent five years earlier.
The security of personal details on the Internet concerned 84 per cent
of people and 54 per cent were worried about the availability of details
on public registers, though only 30 per cent were concerned about video
surveillance in public places.
Did you know?
It is legal for anyone to buy a copy of your birth certificate from
Births, Deaths and Marriages. That and a letter addressed to you are all
that is needed to get a driver's licence in your name.
If you were born in New Zealand from 1969 onward, a sample of blood from
a prick of your heel was taken at birth and kept in an Auckland health
laboratory. This is the most comprehensive collection of dna data in the
country but can be accessed by police only in extreme circumstances,
such as identification of a corpse.
Anyone can look up your car registration on the motor vehicle register
and get your details.
Every time your mobile phone is called, texted or turned on, its
whereabouts is recorded by telecommunication firms.
In the inner city, Wellingtonians are under the watchful eye of three
city council security cameras, rolling 24 hours a day. Numerous shops
and businesses and some schools have their own cameras.
Commuter trains on the Johnsonville, Paraparaumu and Hutt Valley lines
have surveillance cameras in some carriages, with the number set to
multiply in coming months.
The trend is seen in workplaces. Professional Investigators Institute
president Trevor Morley said it was common for bosses to keep a covert
eye on staff using hidden cameras.
Privacy advocate Tim McBride was also concerned about monitoring of
recreation time - such as collection of shopping habit data by loyalty
programmes Fly Buys and Onecard - and the sharing of personal
information between agencies.