New Zealand quietly working on large-scale surveillance – update

New Zealand was secretly working on introducing a program that would keep an eye on its own residents. The government has always denied that, but now confirms that the plans were there. However, these would not have been continued, the prime minister said.

The unveiling of the planned surveillance program was made by The Intercept, the website of journalist Glenn Greenwald. NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden writes on the website that the New Zealand secret service, the Government Communications Security Bureau, searches data of New Zealanders on a large scale. In addition, he had access to private data of “millions of New Zealanders” through NSA software, he claims.

According to Greenwald, documents leaked by the whistleblower indeed show that the New Zealand government secretly worked on such a surveillance program, although it does not explicitly show that the program was actually implemented. The program was made possible by a change in law that allowed the GCSB to spy on New Zealanders; until then that was forbidden. When the law was introduced, the government emphasized that the law would not be used for large-scale surveillance.

Meanwhile, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has confirmed that the government was working on a “large-scale protection program” that “could be construed as large-scale communications”, but that it was ultimately not implemented. Key has always indicated that he would resign if the new legislation were used for large-scale spying on New Zealanders. Until now, he has denied the existence of a surveillance program.

The Espionage Act was also amended as a result of the MegaUpload case. The GCSB spied on MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom, when it wasn’t allowed at all: Dotcom has a residence permit. In early 2012, the site was shut down by order of the US government.

Update Tuesday, 10.45: New Zealand Prime Minister John Key calls Snowden and Greenwald’s allegations baseless, according to the NZ Herald: “If they had wanted to provide evidence to support their claims they would have had the chance last night but it was nothing more than rhetoric.”