New Zealand’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner offered guidance on the Privacy Act’s “serious threat to public health or safety exception” in response to COVID-19’s public health risk. It permits the collection, use and disclosure of personal information “to prevent or lessen a serious threat to public health or public safety.” The OPC outlines when the exception is applicable, whether sharing information about groups of individuals is permitted, and lessons learned from the Ministry of Health’s use of the exception to disclose COVID-19 patient information.
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