SECTION 4 - COUNTER-TERRORISM MEASURES (Articles 2, 6, 14, 17 and 26) A. Security Surveillance Legislation LOIPR Please provide information on the steps taken to redraft the Government Communications Security Bureau and Related Legislation Amendment Bill, taking into account the conclusions of the Human Rights Commission, published in a report to the Prime Minister in July 2013, that the bill would breach the right to privacy in an unbalanced and unjustified manner. Please clarify whether the comments of the Human Rights Commission in the abovementioned report to the Prime Minister were taken into account in the Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) Act (Act No. 91 of 11 November 2013). In particular, please clarify the following points in the Act: (a) the definition of “national security”; (b) the extent to which information on users, including their personal data, may be provided to relevant authorities by a service or network operator; (c) the extent to which intercepted information and information on the receivers may be provided by a service or network operator to relevant authorities; (d) the conditions under which information may be classified; and (e) the conditions under which classified security information may be used by law enforcement authorities and the judiciary. (Para 9 and 10) 65 The Government’s report to the Committee responds in detail to the Committee’s specific questions relating to the Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) Act 2013. This section does not repeat that information but rather provides an overview of the broader security and surveillance framework in New Zealand. 66 Globally, issues around mass surveillance, privacy, business and human rights, and media freedom have arisen in the wake of disclosures by Edward Snowden in 2013. In New Zealand, the focal point for these issues was the Government Communications Security Bureau and Related Legislation Amendment Act 2013 and the Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) Act. 67 The Commission remains concerned that the legislation is wide-reaching without sufficient safeguards against abuse of power. There is inadequate oversight and inadequate provision for ensuring transparency and accountability. In its report to the Prime Minister on the legislation and broader human rights matters regarding surveillance the Commission recommended:  A full and independent inquiry into New Zealand’s intelligence services be undertaken as soon as possible with terms of reference agreed on a crosspolitical party basis, to consider the role and function of our intelligence