New Zealand: Introduced Customer and Product Data Bill (Bill No. 44-1)

On 16 May 2024, the Customer and Product Data Bill (Bill No. 44-1I) was introduced to the legislature of New Zealand. The Bill aims to establish an economy-wide framework to facilitate access to and sharing of customer and product data among businesses. It aims to achieve this by mandating that businesses holding designated customer data (referred to as data holders) provide such data to customers and, with the customers' authorisation, to accredited third parties. The Bill would require data holders to respond to electronic requests from customers and accredited third parties (with customer authorisation) by performing actions such as opening accounts, processing payments, or modifying customer plans. Additionally, the Bill would mandate that product data, which includes information about a data holder's goods and services, be made available electronically upon request. The Bill includes privacy safeguards to protect the privacy of individuals and the confidentiality of customer information. These safeguards would complement the existing protections outlined in the Privacy Act 2020, which would continue to apply unless specified otherwise by the Bill.