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Businesses are being warned the mishandling of personal information can cause serious damage.
Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff has unveiled a survey showing 86 per cent of people are annoyed they have become a target of direct marketing, because their personal information has been passed on to other businesses.
Launching Privacy Week today, she told the Auckland Chamber of Commerce that businesses must tell people if they plan to use their information for other purposes. She says they must also be given a chance to opt out, because there are real signs of a backlash from consumers angry at inappropriate use of their personal details.
Shroff says businesses should only collect information they need, use it only for the purpose it was collected for and dispose it safely once its use for the information is over.
- NEWSTALK ZB
