In July last year RNZ reported on a child who effectively lived more than nine weeks in a Waikato hospital because Oranga Tamariki were unable to find them a placement.
The Broadcasting Standards Authority has upheld aspects of seven complaints under the privacy and fairness standards, regarding RNZ's broadcasts which included material stolen from the former Waikato District Health Board and released by hackers on the dark web.
The BSA found the child was identifiable and their privacy was breached on a segment on Morning Report because:
- Children generally have higher reasonable expectations of privacy.
- The information disclosed was sensitive in nature, collected under a relationship of trust and confidence and obtained from confidential files.
- The disclosure was highly offensive as the situation deserved sensitivity and care.
The Authority said while there was a legitimate public interest in the story, this did not extend to all the details included in the item. It also found the Morning Report segment breached the privacy of the child's family but not of the social worker involved.
The fairness standard was also breached as the broadcasts were unfair to the child and their family given the vulnerability of the child and the sensitive nature of the information about them and their family contained in the broadcast.
The BSA ordered this statement be broadcast on Morning Report, and RNZ pay costs of $1800 to the Crown.
The Authority did not uphold the complaints regarding law and order, as it found the broadcasts would not have the effect of inciting or encouraging illegal or seriously antisocial behaviour. A good taste and decency complaint was also not upheld.
