How to check the information people hold on you

By ALAN PERROTT

Enjoying the most basic benefits of the new millennium seems to mean sacrificing the most basic details of our private lives on a daily basis.

Our lives can be laid bare by a cursory examination of Eftpos and credit-card purchases.

Employers hold details of our life histories and how other people have judged us.

Airlines know where we prefer to sit and what we like to eat.

Our phones don't ring unless we give people our numbers, and surveillance cameras follow us at work, on the street and inside shops.

Public records detailing where we live, where we were born and what we do are available to anyone with the time and the inclination to look.

"It's become an awareness issue because people are trading away their privacy every day," said Privacy Commissioner Bruce Slane.

"People need to be cautious when giving up information because there is an extraordinary number of ways it can be gathered and used.

"But a lot more people are starting to ask 'why do you want to know this' and in many cases they're told 'you don't have to tell us if you don't want to'."

The Privacy Act says we are each entitled to ask any organisation, business or individual if they hold information about us and get a simple 'yes' or 'no' answer.

There are exemptions, such as MPs acting in their official capacity, inquiries into the judicial functions of courts and tribunals and the news-gathering work done by news media.

Concerns over who holds what arise from information stores like the Wanganui Police computer which have become useful tools for inquisitive employers and insurance companies.

Figures from the Department of Courts showed the number of inquiries to the Wanganui database jumped from 13,000 in 1996 to 36,500 in the 12 months to June 2000.

By the end of the year they were receiving 450 requests a day and fewer than a quarter came from the individuals concerned.

Once your information request has been lodged, the agency concerned must reply within 20 working days, unless they notify you of an extension.

If they do not have the information sought, the agency must pass your request on to whoever does and offer any help necessary.

You can also request an opportunity to study and if necessary correct any information collected from third parties, but there are grounds for refusal.

The most common reason given is that releasing the information would breach a promise of confidentiality made to the supplier.

This is often the case with employers refusing access to references from third parties.

Even so, you must be told why access was denied and the legal grounds supporting that decision.

When you do agree to give up personal information, whoever has requested it must declare whether they intend passing it on to anyone else, otherwise they may be in breach of the Privacy Act.

The Fair Trading Act prohibits such warnings from being hidden in tiny type and long sentences.

The Privacy Commission said the test of any breach of this protection is a practical one - whether or not passing on the information will bring about an adverse effect.

"These rights aren't about preserving secrets," said Bruce Slane. "Most people are quite happy to give people information, they just don't want it to be broadcast to the world."

If you have a privacy query you can call the Privacy Commission hotline, (09) 302-8655 within Auckland or 0800 803-909.

Written complaints should be sent to: The Privacy Commissioner, PO Box 466, Auckland or e-mailed to privacy@iprolink.co.nz.

Herald Online feature: Privacy

Privacy Commissioner (NZ)

Electronic Privacy Information Centre (USA)

ACLU Echelon Watch (USA)

Cyber Rights and Liberties (UK)