Privacy Continued

In a previous posting I raised the issue of privacy. I discussed with a lawyer the legalities of recording a neighbours activities. He said it was illegal but as it turns out it is not quite as clear cut as that.
I wrote to the privacy commission to get some more information. The questions I asked were these:
Is it illegal for someone to record (audio and visual) someone’s actions on private property from off of the property? For example a neighbour recording another neighbour. In this case the person being recorded does not own the property but does pay rent to live there. The activities are general activities around the house. I am aware that the recording of intimate situations is illegal.
Do the legalities behind this change if the recordings were then broadcast to a private group of people across the internet.
Does it matter if the internet site is distributing the recordings is located in New Zealand or overseas?
Are there some recording devices that are illegal? For example devices that are intended to listen from afar i.e. not within earshot, or camera’s that are hidden, or infrared camera’s.
A full transcript of our conversation
Here is an excerpt from the response I got from them. The whole conversation can be found here.
Collecting personal information about individuals, even when collected by recording equipment is subject to the Privacy Act.
A neighbour who collects information by the use of a camera, is generally not restricted from making the collection if the information collected is related that person’s own personal our household affairs. An example being security cameras.
Any other collection would need to be compliant with principle 3 below.
When it comes to recording a conversation, that may be an issue under the Crimes Act, s216 if the person making the voice recording is not actually a party to the conversation.
If the person is party to the conversation then the collection is generally not in breach of the Act if the collection is not unfair under the circumstances.
As you mention care has to be taken not to record intimate situations.
Any disclosure of the information would again be governed by the original purpose of the collection. If the collection was not related to the recorders own personal household affairs the disclosure would need to be considered under principle 11, see below.
The principles that are spoken of are from the ‘Information Privacy Principles’ which are part of the Privacy Act. The full list of principles can be found here.
Here is Principle 3 and Principle 11 as mentioned above
Principle 3 Collection of information from subject
(1) Where an agency collects personal information directly from the individual concerned, the agency shall take such steps (if any) as are, in the circumstances, reasonable to ensure that the individual concerned is aware of -
(a) The fact that the information is being collected; and
(b) The purpose for which the information is being collected; and
(c) The intended recipients of the information; and
(d) The name and address of -
(i) The agency that is collecting the information; and
(ii) The agency that will hold the information; and
(e) If the collection of the information is authorised or required by or under law -
(i) The particular law by or under which the collection of the information is so authorised or required; and
(ii) Whether or not the supply of the information by that individual is voluntary or mandatory; and
(f) The consequences (if any) for that individual if all or any part of the requested information is not provided; and
(g) The rights of access to, and correction of, personal information provided by these principles.
(2) The steps referred to in subclause (1) of this principle shall be taken before the information is collected or, if that is not practicable, as soon as practicable after the information is collected.
(3) An agency is not required to take the steps referred to in subclause (1) of this principle in relation to the collection of information from an individual if that agency has taken those steps in relation to the collection, from the individual, of the same information or information of the same kind, on a recent previous occasion.
(4) It is not necessary for an agency to comply with subclause (1) of this principle if the agency believes, on reasonable grounds -
(a) That non-compliance is authorised by the individual concerned; or
(b) That non-compliance would not prejudice the interests of the individual concerned; or
(c) The non-compliance is necessary -
(i) To avoid prejudice to the maintenance of the law by any public sector agency, including the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, and punishment of offences; or
(ii) For the enforcement of a law imposing a pecuniary penalty; or
(iii) For the protection of the public revenue; or
(iv) For the conduct of proceedings before any court or tribunal (being proceedings that have been commenced or are reasonably in contemplation); or
(d) That compliance would prejudice the purposes of the collection; or
(e) That compliance is not reasonably practicable in the circumstances of the particular case; or
(f) That the information -
(i) Will not be used in a form in which the individual concerned is identified; or
(ii) Will be used for statistical or research purposes and will not be published in a form that could reasonably be expected to identify the individual concerned.
Principle 11 Limits on disclosure of personal information
An agency that holds personal information shall not disclose the information to a person or body or agency unless the agency believes, on reasonable grounds -
(a) That the disclosure of the information is one of the purposes in connection with which the information was obtained or is directly related to the purposes in connection with which the information was obtained; or
(b) That the source of the information is a publicly available publication; or
(c) That the disclosure is to the individual concerned; or
(d) That the disclosure is authorised by the individual concerned;
or
(e) That non-compliance is necessary -
(i) To avoid prejudice to the maintenance of the law by any public sector agency, including the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, and punishment of offences; or
(ii) For the enforcement of a law imposing a pecuniary penalty; or
(iii) For the protection of the public revenue; or
(iv) For the conduct of proceedings before any court or tribunal (being proceedings that have been commenced or are reasonably in contemplation); or
(f) That the disclosure of the information is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to:
(i) Public health or public safety; or
(ii) The life or health of the individual concerned or another individual; or
(g) That the disclosure of the information is necessary to facilitate the sale or other disposition of a business as a going concern; or
(h) That the information -
(i) Is to be used in a form in which the individual concerned is not identified; or
(ii) Is to be used for statistical or research purposes and will not be published in a form that could reasonably be expected to identify the individual concerned; or
(i) That the disclosure of the information is in accordance with an authority granted under section 54 of this Act.