emanate from State authorities or from natural or legal persons. The obligations imposed by this article require the State to adopt legislative and other measures to give effect to the prohibition against such interferences and attacks as well as to the protection of this right.3 In other words, a robust legal framework that protects the right to privacy as a free-standing right and provides measures to prohibit and sanction breaches of the right, is a minimum requirement for State parties to the ICCPR to meet. This was illustrated in the most recent review of New Zealand’s compliance with the ICCPR, in which the UNHRC expressed concern that the right to privacy is not protected as a freestanding right in New Zealand legislation.4 More specifically, the UNHRC expressed concern that surveillance activities carried out under New Zealand’s intelligence and security legislation (at that time) lacked sufficient oversight and safeguards mechanisms, and did not meet the requirements of Article 17.5 Similarly, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has recommended that New Zealand social sector policies that impact upon privacy rights fully protect the right to privacy and are included in relevant legislation.6 The right to freedom of expression and the right to hold opinions without interference, affirmed under article 19 of the ICCPR are also important. As stated in the preamble to the Global Principles on the Protection of Freedom of Expression and Privacy: Without privacy, individuals lack the space to think and speak without intrusion and to develop their own voice. Without freedom of expression, individuals would be unable to develop their 3 UNHRC, CCPR General Comment No. 16: Article 17 (Right to Privacy), The Right to Respect of Privacy, Family, Home and Correspondence, and Protection of Honour and Reputation (8 April 1988) 4 UNHRC, Concluding Observations: New Zealand, CCPR/C/CO/NZL/6 (27 April 2016) para. 15 http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CCPR%2fC%2fNZL%2fCO%2f6&Lang=en. 5 Ibid., para 16. 6 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding observations on the fifth periodic report of New Zealand, CRC/C/NZL/CO/5 (21 October 2016) paras. 20(a) and 20(b) http://www.refworld.org/docid/587ceb574. html sense of self. At the heart of the protection of these rights lies the respect for, and protection of, human dignity and individuals’ ability to live freely and engage with one another.7 The application of algorithms to data to predict future behaviour or generate risk assessments to inform social spending may also implicate the right to be free from discrimination under Article 26 of the ICCPR. This issue will be discussed further below. 1.2 International Resolutions, Reports & Groups The UNHRC’s interpretation of the right to privacy in General Comment 16 is now approaching 30 years old. While its principles are still applicable, it does not specifically address the challenges that have arisen from the information technology revolution over that period.8 In recent years UN human rights entities such as the Human Rights Council9, General Assembly10, Special Rapporteurs11 and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)12 have produced numerous reports and resolutions on the human rights challenges brought about by the digital age. The principles and recommendations contained in these documents contribute to the international jurisprudence on the right to privacy and, as such, provide an important reference point when assessing the rights-consistency of domestic policies and practices that utilise digital technologies to gather, share and assess personal data. 7 The Global Principles were written by Article 19, an NGO dedicated to upholding the freedom to speak and the freedom to know 8 There have accordingly been calls for the UNHRC to update its General Comment on the right to privacy. 9 The UN Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system made up of 47 States responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the world. 10 The UN General Assembly is made up of all 193 Member States of the UN and is a forum used to work together and discuss a wide array of international issues covered by the UN Charter, such as development, peace and security, and international law. 11 UN Special Rapporteurs are independent human rights experts with mandates to report and advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. 12 The UN OHCHR is the principal UN body that is committed to the promotion and protection of universal human rights. 9