In a feature piece for The New Zealand Herald, Chris Barton writes of government discussions about examining New Zealand's laws with an eye toward adopting the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, questioning the privacy implications of such a move. International treaties need all countries to abide by them, he writes, noting, "you worry such global laws will undermine values we hold dear, like individual privacy, and gift the state big brother surveillance powers which restrict civil liberties." While there are many positive aspects to the convention, he notes, "As our Ministry of Justice points out, many of New Zealand's legal arrangements already conform to much of the convention's provisions."
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