# Should the New Zealand Live Stream of Massacre be Censored? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 15, 2019, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193 "2019-03-15T20:27:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/121 "2019-03-19T21:00:26Z")
My government, the USA, most certainly draws lines over what videos, possesion of which, might land someone in prison. And, you know, for a good reason. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/122 "2019-03-19T21:01:53Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > My government, the USA, most certainly draws lines over what videos, possesion of which, might land someone in prison. And, you know, for a good reason. Sure, and so does New Zealand’s, and so does the DPRK. The difference is in where those lines are drawn. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/123 "2019-03-19T21:15:26Z")
The filming of the commission of a terrible crime, right? ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/124 "2019-03-19T21:19:53Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > It’s an opinion, in IMHO. I don’t feel the need to “justify” or “quantify” it. …“its just an opinion” isn’t a defense of your disgusting mis-characterization, even in IMHO. > [@](#): > > We’ve got at least two datapoints, an 18-year-old and a 22-year-old. LOL. As if that makes your case any stronger. > [@](#): > > Out of idle curiosity, which countries do you think actually deserve it? I’m not in the mood to indulge your idle curiosity. > [@](#): > > Because the most disconcerting thing your government is doing here is threatening people for possessing the video: “We would like to remind people that it is an offence to distribute or possess an objectionable publication [under the Films Videos and Publications Classifications Act 1993], which carries a penalty of imprisonment”. Can you not be arrested and imprisoned in the United States for possessing content that is deemed “illegal contraband”? Aren’t there federal law prohibits the production, distribution, reception, and possession of certain objectionable content? > [@](#): > > Your post here is the first time I can recall hearing that the “target identified” (elsewhere I’d seen it as “target acquired”) post came prior to attack. Do you have a source for that? What about the “several other incitements to extreme violence”? I’d prefer to examine the actual statements myself. There are only a handful of articles on this case: all of them an easy google search away. I’m not your monkey. You’ve got enough time to vigorously defend the characterization that New Zealand is a tyrannical shithole but you can’t spend 30 seconds on google to find out the basic facts of this case? Are you being fucking serious? > [@](#): > > Do you have any details, or are you just accepting the authorities’ word on the matter? LOL. > [@](#): > > Sure, and you’re entitled to your opinion on the matter, as is the Fraser Institute. I don’t think either of them rise to the level of “objective fact”, You are objectively wrong. > [@](#): > > but here is one: My government hasn’t threatened its citizens with imprisonment for possession of video of the attack. Yours has. Your government does threaten your citizens with arrest for possession of objectionable materials. Thats an objective fact. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/125 "2019-03-19T21:31:42Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …There are only a handful of articles on this case: all of them an easy google search away. I’m not your monkey. You’ve got enough time to vigorously defend the characterization that New Zealand is a tyrannical shithole but you can’t spend 30 seconds on google to find out the basic facts of this case? Are you being fucking serious? … I’m not sure you’re in a great position to be lecturing others about being unaware of the basic facts of this case, but since you seem to be trying, do you now recall if it was “target identified” or “target acquired”? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/126 "2019-03-19T21:47:16Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Loach, with a related question, given that NZ is aggressively criminally sanctioning people if disseminate, and maybe even possess, the video, what is the SDMB’s policy about links posted here to sites that still have a copy of the video or manifesto? If the rule is to prohibit mention, then is the reason why that a country has deemed the material illegal to distribute, and if so, why does NZ get a veto, and not, say, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia? > > I already picked up a Warning for mentioning the existence of free streaming services, and I’d rather not run afoul of that rule again. I will answer briefly but if you want to go into detail take it up in ATMB. The registration agreement states that you can not post anything that violates U.S. law. Anything else would not be practical. As for linking to the video in this instance? I have not spoken to any other mod and I cannot speak of what they would do it in any forum that I don’t mod. Most likely I would not allow it just on the basis of basic human decency not any particular law. My personal feeling is that the video is out there, if you really want to find it it’s easy enough, there’s no need for us to post it here. If you need to hear the opinions of other mods or the admin start a thread in ATMB. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/127 "2019-03-19T21:56:58Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I’m not sure you’re in a great position to be lecturing others about being unaware of the basic facts of this case, but since you seem to be trying, do you now recall if it was “target identified” or “target acquired”? Yet again, you cant hit the point with a fucking nuke let alone your beloved M4 ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/128 "2019-03-19T22:05:32Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > but since you seem to be trying, do you now recall if it was “target identified” or “target acquired”? …a quick google seems to indicate a number of news organizations have corrected “target acquired” to “target identified”. As always with these things early reporting got things wrong. There are a few local people speculating that he wasn’t just in possession of the video, but he was streaming it live. That’s an important distinction, one that might not necessarily be explicitly covered by existing laws which is why he was arrested under the existing framework. But that’s speculation. Its not even a week since the shooting. More information will come out. He will get his day in court. Its not like we are a tyrannical shithole or anything. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/129 "2019-03-19T22:38:31Z")
This came up earlier in the thread: > [@Loach](#): > > I am strongly against the government censorship but I really think you’re reading this wrong. For one I don’t know what you think is the most pathetic part, that I don’t understand. The standard legal disclaimer at the end? Whatever. If they were looking for “dissidents” they would be attempting to find information From the time after the video was deemed illegal. **From what I read the video didn’t automatically become illegal it had to be named that by some sort of government panel.** This is a letter of preservation asking to preserve the data at the time when the shooting happened. Most likely they have information that he is streamed through their service during the shooting and they are looking for information about others who may have been involved. Not “dissidents.” (emphasis mine) It seems that’s not entirely correct, or at least downplays New Zealand skipping over some of the ex post facto protections Americans generally enjoy: > [@](#): > > Chief Censor David Shanks has officially classified the full 17-minute video of the fatal Christchurch shootings which occurred on Friday 15 March, as “objectionable” - meaning it is banned. > > That raises the prospect of a fine of up to $10,000 or up to 14 years’ jail for anyone who shares the clip - and this morning, Privacy Commissioner John Edwards called on Facebook to share names with police. > > **It is an offence to share this material as soon as it is produced, and the timing of the official classification does not affect the ability for police and enforcement agencies to prosecute offences under the Films, Videos & Publications Classification Act 1993, Shanks says.** > > “Facebook should be notifying the police of the account names of people who have shared this content,” Edwards told RNZ this morning. > > … > > “If you didn’t know the material was objectionable and you were found in possession of it, a maximum fine of $10,000 could apply,” he told the Herald. > > “If you knew the content was objectionable and were found in possession of it - the legal test here is ‘knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the publication is objectionable’ - a maximum term of 14 years imprisonment could apply.” > > … source: [https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c\_id=3&objectid=12214083](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12214083) Two other points: 1. I can’t readily imagine a more doublespeak-esque title than “Privacy Commissioner” given John Edwards’ sordid role in this. 2. What country worthy of the label “free” has any use at all for a “Chief Censor”? ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/130 "2019-03-19T22:55:02Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Two other points: > > 1. I can’t readily imagine a more doublespeak-esque title than “Privacy Commissioner” given John Edwards’ sordid role in this. …“sordid.” LOL. > [@](#): > > 1. What country worthy of the label “free” has any use at all for a “Chief Censor”? Aotearoa. We are one of the most free countries on the planet, as I have already comprehensively demonstrated. What country worthy of the label “free” locks kids in cages and separates them from their parents? What country worthy of the label “free” routinely throws women in jail for having consensual sex? “Land of the fucking free” my ass. I think your “freedom calibrator” needs fixing. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/131 "2019-03-19T22:59:28Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …“sordid.” LOL. > > Aotearoa. We are one of the most free countries on the planet, as I have already comprehensively demonstrated. What country worthy of the label “free” locks kids in cages and separates them from their parents? What country worthy of the label “free” routinely throws women in jail for having consensual sex? “Land of the fucking free” my ass. > > I think your “freedom calibrator” needs fixing. We know you’ve got the knack for whataboutisms down pat, but do you have any thoughts on New Zealand turning fucking FACEBOOK into a champion of privacy? Facebook! ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/132 "2019-03-19T23:00:36Z")
Hearing New Zealand described as a shithole is one of the stupidest things i have ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/133 "2019-03-19T23:04:37Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > We know you’ve got the knack for whataboutisms …give me a fucking break. The statement "What country worthy of the label “free” has any use at all for a “Chief Censor” is so ridiculously hyperbolic that my response was entirely appropriate. > [@](#): > > down pat, but do you have any thoughts on New Zealand turning fucking FACEBOOK into a champion of privacy? Facebook! What the fuck are you talking about now? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/134 "2019-03-19T23:13:28Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …What the fuck are you talking about now? Read the article I linked to in #129. Facebook seems unwilling to aid New Zealand in tracking down the “criminals”. Bravo to them for that, even though they’ve got about as checkered a past as any large corporation I can think of on protecting users’ privacy. > [@](#): > > Chief Censor David Shanks has officially classified the full 17-minute video of the fatal Christchurch shootings which occurred on Friday 15 March, as “objectionable” - meaning it is banned. > > That raises the prospect of a fine of up to $10,000 or up to 14 years’ jail for anyone who shares the clip - and this morning, Privacy Commissioner John Edwards called on Facebook to share names with police. > > It is an offence to share this material as soon as it is produced, and the timing of the official classification does not affect the ability for police and enforcement agencies to prosecute offences under the Films, Videos & Publications Classification Act 1993, Shanks says. > > “Facebook should be notifying the police of the account names of people who have shared this content,” Edwards told RNZ this morning. > > “It’s not a conflict I think because at the core there is a very egregious offence to the dignity and the rights to privacy of the victims.” > > \*\*The Herald asked Facebook for comment. The social network’s VP for global policy, Monika Bickert, would not answer the question directly, but said her company ordinarily would not share account details unless there was “something like an imminent threat of violence.” > \*\* > … from the [New Zealand Herald - Christchurch mosque attack: Up to 14 years’ jail for video sharers as Commissioner asks Facebook to give police names](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12214083) ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/135 "2019-03-19T23:24:11Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Read the article I linked to in #129. Facebook seems unwilling to aid New Zealand in tracking down the “criminals”. Bravo to them for that, even though they’ve got about as checkered a past as any large corporation I can think of on protecting users’ privacy. > > from the [New Zealand Herald - Christchurch mosque attack: Up to 14 years’ jail for video sharers as Commissioner asks Facebook to give police names](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12214083) …no, seriously, what the fuck are you talking about? Your claim was that “New Zealand turning fucking FACEBOOK into a champion of privacy.” That literally hasn’t happened. Your cite doesn’t show that happened. What on earth are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/136 "2019-03-19T23:41:18Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …no, seriously, what the fuck are you talking about? Your claim was that “New Zealand turning fucking FACEBOOK into a champion of privacy.” That literally hasn’t happened. Your cite doesn’t show that happened. What on earth are you talking about? Facebook appears to be standing up to New Zealand’s request to out their users. They are protecting their users’ privacy. Are you really not able to connect those dots? ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/137 "2019-03-19T23:47:11Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Facebook appears to be standing up to New Zealand’s request to out their users. …New Zealand is a country. New Zealand can’t request jack-shit of facebook. The Privacy Commissioner doesn’t speak for the country and him “calling on” Facebook to do something is indistinguishable from any other private citizen calling on Facebook to do something. > [@](#): > > They are protecting their users’ privacy. And? > [@](#): > > Are you really not able to connect those dots? I’m not that good with conspiracy theories sorry. Is that your speciality? Can you connect the dots for us? Maybe even post a few memes, for good measure? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2019, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/138 "2019-03-20T00:11:29Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …New Zealand is a country. New Zealand can’t request jack-shit of facebook. … This is absurd. Of course it can, via its elected / appointed officials. We use this formulation all the time: e.g. “The USA imposed sanctions on …” means the administration did it, in their official capacity as agents of the government, and by extension the country, not as private citizens. There’s no conspiracy theory here. Perhaps the term of art “turning fucking FACEBOOK into a champion of privacy” is what confused you? It was a colorful way of pointing out that New Zealand’s request was such an egregious violation of users’ privacy that it appears to have driven even Facebook, a company with a spotty-at-best record of protecting their users’ privacy themselves, to resist and protect their users’ privacy. That’s how far out in left field New Zealand is on this. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2019, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/139 "2019-03-20T00:49:54Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > This is absurd. Of course it can, via its elected / appointed officials. We use this formulation all the time: e.g. “The USA imposed sanctions on …” means the administration did it, in their official capacity as agents of the government, and by extension the country, not as private citizens. …not absurd at all. The opinion expressed by the Privacy Commissioner is clearly outside his official remit, you know this right? > [@](#): > > There’s no conspiracy theory here. Perhaps the term of art “turning fucking FACEBOOK into a champion of privacy” is what confused you? It was a colorful way of pointing out that New Zealand’s request was such an egregious violation of users’ privacy that it appears to have driven even Facebook, a company with a spotty-at-best record of protecting their users’ privacy themselves, to resist and protect their users’ privacy. That’s how far out in left field New Zealand is on this. “New Zealand” hasn’t made a request. The Privacy Commissioner was expressing his opinion (which you have been clear about, he is absolutely is allowed to do) when asked a question about how he interpreted the law. But this is entirely outside of the Office of the Privacy Commission’s remit. He doesn’t have the authority of the New Zealand government to make any formal requests of this nature and he hasn’t. Perhaps you should do some research into the Privacy Commission to understand what their role is, what powers they have, so you can put the statements he made into the correct context before you make outlandish claims. Which is exactly why the response from Facebook didn’t address the direct question from the Herald because they literally couldn’t. The statement that the "company ordinarily would not share account details unless there was “something like an imminent threat of violence” does not exclude “extraordinary circumstances” and is about as “boilerplate” a response you can give. Oh and one more thing. Claiming that New Zealand is a “tyannical shithole” or that “New Zealand turning fucking FACEBOOK into a champion of privacy” aren’t “colourful turns of phrase.” They are deliberately antagonistic hyperbolic mischaracterizations and you really should stop doing that. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2019, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-new-zealand-live-stream-of-massacre-be-censored/831193/140 "2019-03-20T05:25:33Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …not absurd at all. The opinion expressed by the Privacy Commissioner is clearly outside his official remit, you know this right? I don’t think _HE_ knows this. Here’s what I’ve learned about the dipshit this evening: There are two separate Twitter accounts: one for John Edwards, bloke on the street, sharing his private musing about the world ([@JCE\_PC](https://twitter.com/JCE_PC)), and a separate “official” one for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner ([@NZPrivacy](https://twitter.com/nzprivacy)). Maybe if he’d just stuck to offering his private opinion about Facebook on his private Twitter account or [his radio interview](https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018687202/privacy-commissioner-urges-crackdown-on-harmful-livestreams), you’d have a point. But he didn’t do that. Just take a look at his official account’s tweets over the last couple of days: > [@](#): > > [After Christchurch mosque shooting, New Zealand must follow the German example and hit Facebook, Google with $80m fines, via @nzherald](https://twitter.com/NZPrivacy/status/1107434800195878912) > [@](#): > > [Facebook slammed for taking insufficient action to make platform safe, in wake of Christchurch mosque atrocities https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/facebook-slammed-taking-insufficient-action-make-platform-safe-in-wake-christchurch-mosque-atrocities … via @1NewsNZ](https://twitter.com/NZPrivacy/status/1107728713028784128) > [@](#): > > [Facebook needs to make it’s live-streaming function safe - says Privacy Commissioner on @NZMorningReport](https://twitter.com/NZPrivacy/status/1107732135878647809) > [@](#): > > [Privacy Commissioner urges crackdown on harmful livestreams](https://twitter.com/NZPrivacy/status/1107736044210839552) > [@](#): > > [Christchurch mosque attack: $14K fines in offing as Commissioner asks Facebook to give police names of those who shared Chch clip, via @nzherald](https://twitter.com/NZPrivacy/status/1107760145436540930) If that’s not enough to dispel your routine about him just being some private bloke on the street sharing his private opinion about things, [here is the official Facebook (ironically) page of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner](https://www.facebook.com/PrivacyNZ). Scroll down a couple of posts there and you’ll see things like “Privacy Commissioner urges crackdown on harmful livestreams” and “Facebook and YouTube have yet to give any indication that they will suspend live-streaming until their systems can better ensure that the videos uploaded respect decency and censorship laws.” Why the fuck are they posting things “outside his official remit” on the official Facebook page for his office? But wait, there’s still more. It seems that this particular dipshit has had a bee in his bonnett about Facebook for quite a while now. A year ago, from [the Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/28/new-zealands-privacy-commissioner-deletes-his-facebook-account): > [@](#): > > John Edwards released a scathing criticism of the social media giant, accusing it of breaching privacy laws after it refused to release personal information held about the accounts of other Facebook users. > > Writing on the website the Spinoff, **Edwards said that when his office had issued Facebook with a statutory demand to produce the information** , the company said it was not subject to the New Zealand Privacy Act, and was therefore under no obligation to provide it. > > **A statement from the Edwards’ office said Facebook was “subject to the Privacy Act and had fundamentally failed to engage with the act”**. > > … > > He said he would “continue to assert that Facebook is obliged to comply with New Zealand law in relation to personal information it holds and uses in relation to its New Zealand users”. > > He wrote: “ **And in due course a case may come before the courts, either through my office, or at the suit of the company**.” > > … Get that? He’s already been issuing “statutory demands” and threatening Facebook with legal action _from his office_, the one in which he acts as part of the New Zealand government. And they’ve got posts about that on the official New Zealand Office of the Privacy Commissioner website - [Privacy Commissioner: Facebook must comply with NZ Privacy Act](https://www.privacy.org.nz/news-and-publications/statements-media-releases/privacy-commissioner-facebook-must-comply-with-nz-privacy-act/): > [@](#): > > The Privacy Commissioner says Facebook has breached the Privacy Act 1993. > > The Commissioner’s finding comes after Facebook refused a complainant access to personal information held on the accounts of several other Facebook users. … That’s an awful lot of official resources for something that’s supposedly “entirely outside of the Office of the Privacy Commission’s remit”. 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