Dataguidance.com writes that the European Commission formally recognised – on 19 December 2012 – the adequacy of the data protection regime in New Zealand, making it the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to receive such recognition. Viviane Reding, EU Justice Commissioner, noted the importance of high standards of data protection in boosting international trade; the annual value of trade in goods and services between New Zealand and the EU is €6.7bn and €3.1bn respectively.
Kathryn Dalziel, Partner at Taylor Shaw, told DataGuidance: “It has been a long process (over 10 years) – few countries have this recognition and it is a real coup for a small island nation in the South Pacific which relies on delivering goods and services internationally as part of its economic stability. I know that many [companies] will be including this recognition in the international marketing of their businesses and, as noted by our Ministers of Justice and Trade, it also opens up business opportunities in data processing, cloud computing and financial or call centre activity”.
Assistant Privacy Commissioner Blair Stewart said: “The decision should be helpful to New Zealand businesses that trade with Europe or hope to do so as it substantially… (read the whole story HERE)
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