7 Apr 2018

Bits+Bytes: privacy laws that will change the internet forever

From Bits+Bytes, 12:45 pm on 7 April 2018

New European privacy laws come into force next month that will change the internet forever and make privacy and data protection a legal right.

Privacy

Privacy Photo: (Flickr user Mike McKenzie Image via www.vpnsrus.com)

Bits+Bytes, with Peter Griffin and Emily Wang, explores what the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will mean for New Zealand internet users and businesses, and global tech players like Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple.

From the end of May any organisation based in the EU, or anyone handling EU citizens' data or offering any services or products in the EU, must comply with the GDPR.

The law overhaul is timely in the aftermath of revelation that personal data from about 87 million Facebook users was obtained and used by data analysis business Cambridge Analytica, which was accused of social media manipulation to influence elections throughout the world.

For many, the episode brought a realisation that personal information is being shared widely, sometimes without our consent.