Digital technologies among focus areas for Church privacy officers

Privacy officers from across New Zealand Catholic organisations gathered in Wellington recently for a day of discussion and professional development around privacy law.

The National Privacy Officers Team is comprised of representatives from the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, the six dioceses and NZCBC agencies, including Caritas, Te Kupenga and the Catholic Enquiry Centre.

This year’s discussions addressed issues which are relevant to Church life today, such as privacy considerations as they relate to cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, social media, Church governance and uniformity of practice and procedures.

“As the area of privacy and technology advances with rapidity, it is important for the team to keep updated with current issues and best practices in the field,” said national privacy officer Elizabeth Ong.

“The right to privacy in Church and civil law is entwined through the idea that privacy is connected to our human dignity and deserves due respect.

“The Church takes seriously its obligations in this area in both realms of law and seeks to do its best to protect this important human right.”

Among those to provide insights and guidance on privacy principles and strategies were guest speakers from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. Ms Ong said network members were grateful to those experts for sharing their time, wisdom and insights.

This was the privacy officers’ fifth annual meeting since the Privacy Act 2020 came into force. The gatherings support the development of collegial relationships and unity between all privacy officers in service of their community and particular areas of the Church.