Mosaic consultants, Mark and Caroline Carver, will front a series of free lunchtime one-hour online sessions over September and October to draw back the curtain on the increasingly complex privacy regime in NZ.
The two privacy and security experts will guide viewers from a ‘plain English’ explanation of the current legislation through to the potential impact of imminent legal changes and a dive into ‘dark patterns’ in seven sessions scheduled during the next couple of months.
Aside from laying out the legal issues – including new privacy laws due to land soon in both Australia and NZ – the Carvers will tackle some of the practical implications for how organisations store and manage personal information.
Privacy is a growing global issue in the online age with many jurisdictions imposing tougher conditions on businesses – and other organisations that collect information on individuals – to protect such personal data.
For example, the NZ Privacy Amendment Bill, which has its first reading in parliament this May, will address “a current gap that arises because there is no requirement for an agency (public or private) to notify an individual when it collects personal information about the individual indirectly (ie, from a source other than from the individual concerned)”, according to the draft legislation.
Under the proposed law businesses and other entities will face a “new notification obligation on an agency when it collects personal information indirectly”.
In the final session, set down for October 25, the Carvers, who joined Mosaic in 2022, will explore the obscure field of ‘dark patterns – defined by a Princeton University study as “user interface design choices that benefit an online service by coercing, steering, or deceiving users into making unintended and potentially harmful decisions”.
Among other dark pattern tactics, the Princeton paper namechecks sneaking, urgency, misdirection, obstruction and forced action as hidden digital tricks foisted on an unsuspecting public.
“We will look at a range of common dark patterns, as well as offering practical advice to help you ensure you do not accidentally create your own ‘Roach Motel’,” the Mosaic consultants note.
Starting from September 13, the Mosaic online privacy sessions will run every Friday for seven weeks from 12-1pm.