New Zealand close behind Australia in establishing consumer data right legislation

New Zealand Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark plans to create a consumer data right legislation for consumers to securely share data that is held about them with trusted third parties, according to the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) reports Interest.co.

Clark says the plan is for the consumer data right to work alongside the Digital Identity Trust Framework announced earlier this year, which aims to support NZ’s transition to a low emissions economy.

Australia has the Consumer Data Right, which enables access to a broader range of products and services from a wider range of providers. Data portability is a mechanism which requires companies who hold data to obtain customer consent before sharing data with third parties.

Consumer digital privacy regimes, especially those involving biometrics are finding traction as different concepts of protecting individual privacy proliferate in countries around the world. For example, the US, Europe and China are in the middle of conflicting opinions surrounding creating coherent privacy regimes.

Consumer data portability could be used to speed up open banking, which gives customers greater access to and control over their own banking data.

“Any data shared through the consumer data right will only take place with a person’s informed consent, and would be strictly used for the reasons agreed upon. For example, if a person was seeking financial advice, they could ask their bank to share data, such as transaction information, with their chosen adviser,” Clark says.

Last year, NZ published a detailed argument for regulation of face biometrics used by government, proposing 15 recommendations for best practices.

New Zealand’s government is in the process of building a regulatory regime which would see a consumer data right established in legislation in  the country.

“Officials are carrying out work to identify which sectors should be considered for designation first. The Government aims to make a second round of detailed policy decisions on the consumer data right framework later in 2021, and will look to introduce legislation in 2022.”

Article Topics

biometrics  |  data protection  |  data sharing  |  digital identity  |  government services  |  legislation  |  New Zealand  |  privacy