To be a truly free and democratic society there must be respect for the autonomy of individuals, writes Tim McBride. and limits on the activities of both state and private agencies which may intrude on that autonomy.

A new change to Instagram policy is putting user information up for sale.

A government employee who was sacked after she accessed client records of Facebook 'friends' has won her job back until a full hearing can be held next year.

A teenager whose private photos have been used without permission to attract bisexual women to a website feels violated and scared.

Banks have united to keep mum on how often they give customer details to police without a warrant.

Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff has described the Ministry of Social Development as a "megastore of personal details" which needs to lift its game to ensure confidence in the public sector is not harmed.

Editorial: Newspapers around the world have been following Lord Justice Leveson's inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of Britain's press with close interest.

The Ministry of Social Development is set to roll out new public computers from May next year to replace the kiosks closed after a security hole was revealed in October.

Nothing quite singles out a member of the baby-boomer generation from the Xs and Ys as our differing attitudes to privacy, writes Brian Rudman.

Auckland Hospital staff have been called to disciplinary hearings in the breach-of-privacy case involving the man who had an eel removed from inside him.

Humane initiatives in privately-run British prisons, such as inmates spending a day with their kids, have caught the eye of Corrections Minister Anne Tolley.

Computer terminals used for 13 years by job seekers at Winz offices had the same security flaw as the self-service kiosks at the centre of the major privacy breach.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says there is not a systemic problem with privacy at Work and Income NZ.

Auckland District Health Board staff have blundered by sending a journalist an envelope filled with personal information and are now apologising to the people involved.

There will undoubtedly be some gardening leave on offer soon at the Ministry of Social Development, writes political commentator Bryce Edwards.

The State Services Commissioner says the Winz security failure has breached any trust Kiwis had in the Govt and has ordered a review of publicly-accessible systems.

Prime Minister John Key has called for a Government-wide review of online information after the Government's largest security breach.

A barrister in privacy law says it is unlikely Keith Ng will face legal action for publishing the fact he'd seen a security gap in WINZ computer systems.

'I sent through an email from work to head office to let them know that this problem existed,' a beneficiary advocate says.