You should be concerned about the IRD giving social media companies our data
The IRD is giving your data to Facebook – taxpayers' data to Facebook, that was the headline yesterday.
We give them our data in trust and confidence. Well, we don't actually, we give them our data because the law says we must file our tax returns and tell them who we are and how much we're earning.
But perhaps you assume that the law says that they must keep it to themselves. Not so.
I think this is a scandal.
To be honest when I read the headline, I thought IRD must have been hit by one of those phone scams. You know, they've been cold called by Nigerian prince and handed over our private data.
But no, the RNZ report says they give Facebook and the big tech guys some of our information because it's anonymised. They're calling it hashed. So they can't see who you are when they hand it over.
And it's only for the purposes of IRD placing ads on these platforms like Facebook, et cetera, so don't worry about it.
Sorry, I am worried, and I reckon most Kiwis will hate this.
The reason is pretty simple: it's trust.
Do you trust Facebook? No.
Do you believe they will keep your data secure? No.
Do you believe they won't marry up your private data that our government has just handed them on a silver platter with the profiles they have on you already? No.
No one trusts these guys.
I don't want some government department sending my data to some Silicon Valley server so that some tech guy can bug me with intrusive ads about what undies to buy.
I actually think there's more to this story, and there will be because they have a life of their own. It won't just be the IRD that's doing it. There will be other government departments, there'll be other private data, there'll be more of us affected.
Luxon should get ahead of this and just say let's have some kind of little review because otherwise you're going to get these headlines ticking over and over and over, and I think people will be sick of it.
Also, as citizens, we need to have faith that when we give our data to the government that it is kept secure and safe, and even a perception that it's not is not good enough.
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Auckland SH1 holiday maintenance
Prepare for delays at SH1 Spaghetti Junction and the Harbour Bridge from Boxing Day evening until early January. Our crew will be carrying out essential maintenance during this time.
Consider taking the SH16/SH18 Western Ring Route and SH20 if you’re travelling south. Our summer works will continue on SH16 The Strand from January until March.
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
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