Member of Parliament Leaks COVID Patients Information to Press
| Member of Parliament Leaks COVID Patients Information to Press | |
|---|---|
| Short Title | New Zealand Opposition Member of Parliament Leaks COVID Patients Information to Press |
| Location | New Zealand |
| Date | July 2020 |
| Solove Harm | Disclosure, Secondary Use |
| Information | Medical and Health |
| Threat Actors | Member of Parliament, President of the National party |
| Individuals | |
| Affected | COVID19 patients in New Zealand |
| High Risk Groups | Medical Patient |
| Tangible Harms | |
An opposition MP in New Zealand leaked information about COVID19 infected patients to press in an attempt to demonstrate "governments shortcomings".
Description
In July 2020 the New Zealand MP, a member of the centre-right opposition National party, admitted leaking the details of all the country’s 18 active COVID-19 cases to the media in order to “expose the government’s shortcoming”. This can be seen as Disclosure.
A former president of the National party said she had been the person who accessed the list of details – in her capacity as acting chief executive of a rescue helicopter trust – and passed them to the MP. Her actions can be seen as Secondary Use.
She regretted her actions and stepped down from her role.
The media decided not to publish or use the information.
Breakdown
Threat: Member of parliament giving the personal details of COVID infected citizens to the media
At-Risk group: COVID infected people
Harm: Disclosure
Secondary Consequences: not known
Threat: President of the National party passing personal details of COVID infected people to an MP even though she only was supposed to access it for emergencies
At-Risk group: COVID infected people
Harm: Secondary Use
Secondary Consequences: not known