Protecting Personal Privacy in Cyberspace: The Limitations of Third Generation Data Protection Laws such as the New Zealand Privacy Act 1993

Abstract

This chapter canvasses the impact of the Privacy Act 1993 on those who transact their business in cyberspace who fall within the Act’s definition of “agency”3 . The writer argues that, for the most part, the Act can be effective in protecting individuals’ privacy in cyberspace. Privacy protection does not place restrictions on freedom of expression and communication on the internet. The internet has proved to be extremely difficult to regulate, perhaps not surprisingly given its origins and function. It has exhibited a high degree of resistance to regulation of any kind, thus confirming a type of “frontier” image.