Facebook bites back at watchdog
It is understood the complainant in this case was not a Facebook user and is alleging that users on Facebook were making defamatory remarks.
any other organisation operating in New Zealand and should follow the same procedures.
Edwards also said that the fact the complainant was not a Facebook user did not make the request any less legitimate.
“If you are a New Zealand resident and you want access to the information that ASB, for instance, has on you, then you are entitled to request it,” Edwards said.
Edwards said that if the request was deemed too broad, then Facebook should have included this in its response rather than claiming that the Privacy Act had no jurisdiction over the case.
The jurisdiction argument arises because the Facebook service in New Zealand is provided by Facebook Ireland, which in Facebook’s view means the company is subject to Irish data protection law and regulated by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner.
Edwards has rejected this claim, saying that the Privacy Act does apply because Facebook operates in New Zealand and provides services to New Zealanders.
Given Facebook has refused to provide any of the user data, the Privacy Commissioner decided to make the case public.
This is an unusual step, most often treated as a last resort and used only if the Privacy Commissioner has been unable to resolve the issue quietly.
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