Kia ora koutou,

This week marked international Data Protection Day, which celebrates the establishment of "Convention 108," a foundational privacy instrument that laid down the principles that inform many privacy regulations around the world today. Our key annual privacy event in the Asia-Pacific is Privacy Week in May. But it’s timely, amid so much current regulatory change, to remember how data privacy started. So, happy Data Protection Day to all!

Almost 40 years later, and we still see evidence of data practices that clearly depart from these universal principles and the spirit of privacy regulation. In Australia, the Guardian reports the government has been sharing health information with the federal police based on outdated guidelines that do not reflect well-established privacy principles. Melbourne barrister Peter Clarke described the resulting process as “the antithesis of proper privacy protections.”

It is clear that our job is far from done, so perhaps 2020 should be our year of engagement with the IAPP. There are several ways to do this: Attend a local KnowledgeNet chapter meeting. In NZ, our next meeting will take place in Auckland 18 Feb. where we will hear from two marketing gurus on taking a privacy-protective approach to marketing automation. Get certified — many of the IAPP’s certifications are highly relevant across jurisdictions, including the CIPM and CIPT. Here in NZ, IAPP’s official training partner, Two Black Labs, is offering certification training for CIPM, CIPT and CIPP/E in Wellington and Auckland this year. Publish content that will be shared with IAPP members — your work will reach your local colleagues and start conversations across the globe, from Ireland to Brazil. Contact your country leader or the IAPP Publications team for more information. Lastly, submit a proposal to speak at an event. Calls are out for both the Asia Privacy Forum and the ANZ Privacy Summit, so get involved and submit a proposal to speak.   

In February, the NZ Privacy Commissioner is hosting European Data Protection Board Legal Adviser Joelle Jouret at two PrivacyLive lunchtime forums — 24 Feb. in Auckland and 26 Feb. in Wellington — at which Joelle will provide a European regulator perspective on the application of the EU General Data Protection Regulation. 

Finally, I’d like to welcome a new KnowledgeNet chair to the Auckland chapter. Simply Privacy Director Emma Pond is a well-respected privacy professional. Before this, Emma was a manager for the NZ Privacy Commissioner, then senior legal counsel (privacy) for Southern Cross Health Insurance. Emma joins our current Auckland chairs Mark Taylor, Karen Ngan and Andrey Ivanov, who together delivered a fantastic program of local events last year. 

In the meantime, enjoy the digest, which brings together global and regional privacy news.

Nga mihi nui