Review of the Internet Party's internet privacy policy.

I believe in objectivity and I believe in knowing the facts.  I believe society should be informed and I believe society should question.  I think that's why I'm a journalist/blogger/researcher.

As many of you know, this year is New Zealand's General Election. Polling Day is the 20th of September, which is just over two months ago.  It's not long at all now.

Over recent weeks and months there has been discussion about housing, education, the general cost of living, the Christchurch rebuild and the role of the Internet Party in the political system.  I'm sure we all have opinions on the role of the Internet Party but let's actually delve into their policies.  In this particular blog I'll analyse and assess their internet policy - their policy on the freedoms and responsibilities people and governments should have online.

The Internet Party's founder Kim Dot Com has been a controversial figure in New Zealand since the GCSB raid on his Auckland mansion.  Since then he has fought for privacy which thousands of New Zealanders have backed.  Now, privacy, particularly in the digital age is a tricky concept - we all have Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and blogs and some of us may post on internet forums and discussion boards.  So let's talk about the Internet Party's internet and privacy policy.

The Internet Party stands for less surveillance and they want to ensure that Kiwis have greater privacy from Big Brother.  Is it Governments we need to be worried about though?  Let's be honest here, the Government (and maybe I'm trusting) isn't really going to do much with our information unless it looks like we may be plotting some type of terrorist activity.  Therefore the majority of us have nothing to worry about.

The problem with this policy though is that, while it looks at privacy, it doesn't look at privacy from the point of view of employers spying on us, people posting things about us which may not be true or flattering.  At the present moment if you go to the police they won't do anything.  They'll tell you to stop being online and to disable your accounts.  The problem with this though is then we lose our right to interact.  At the moment I'm off Twitter temporarily and earlier this year I went off Twitter for four months.  It was hard, given the reliance on the internet and social media these days it's pretty hard to not be online. 

Last year Justice Minister Judith Collins introduced new legislation making it tougher for cyber bullies to get away with tormenting people.  Now, this is a good start but the problem is, what if you don't know who is bullying you?  What are you supposed to do then?  Ultimately you have no chance of getting justice served.

I understand that the Internet Party has a personal interest in protecting our civil liberties and internet freedom from being manipulated, but I don't think it's Governments we need to worry about.  I actually think it's eachother we need to worry about?  It's you, it's me, it's your best friend, it's your daughter, it's your father, it's your workmate.  These are the people who really can cause harm.  The Government is bound by legislation not to use your information in a sinister way, but of course, there's no laws governing the internet.  For want of a better phrase the internet is what the world would be like if there was total anarchy.

I don't support the Internet Party but in the name of research and good journalism, I've looked at their internet and privacy policy and the fact of the matter is, their policy targets the wrong people.  It's the man down the street who could use information you post against you.  He's the one who could harm your everyday life.  The Government is only a small fish in a big sea.  And if that man down the street does use that information about you against you, it's often his word against yours because what's online stays online forever.. 

The police wouldn't allow violence against you in the street or hate speech, so why do they treat the internet any different?  Is it time that Governments introduced stronger laws governing the internet and is time that companies like Google co-operated and allowed you to be "forgotten"?