Who are you really talking to? Seeking Immigration Advice online.
When you need Immigration advice who do you ask? In the past you would have asked friends and family, your neighbour, your work colleague. These days we have Dr Google and more recently social media has come along to replace all of the above. When you ask a question online, take a moment to think? how this question could be taken by a third party? Say Immigration New Zealand.
MBIE using fake personas on social media
According to a report by RNZ, MBIE (the parent agency of Immigration New Zealand) has been using online aliases as part of Immigration Investigations.
According to these reports, the Ministry has been using fake social media accounts to catch Immigration Fraudsters and Migrant exploiters. It is in everyone’s interest that Immigration fraudsters and those engaged in migrant exploitation are found out. The use of fake personas and social media monitoring raise a number of questions.
What is MBIE Up to?
The big questions are – Who are they presenting themselves as? Who are they going after? Are they going after the marginalised or are they going after the big fish of the crime world?
These investigations are largely confidential and there are doubts we will ever know. But the takeaway is – if you are asking a question about your visa application or immigration status online, make sure you know who you are talking to.
Social Media Monitoring
Another practice recently highlighted is Social Media Monitoring.
Social media monitoring is practiced by all sorts of parties online. Companies monitor social media and then use this data. Government agencies around the world also collect and use this data. These purposes include obtaining information about individuals for the purposes of law enforcement, fraud detection and assessment of safety.
Privacy Commissioner
According to the Privacy Commissioner – MBIE is not the only NZ government agency using social media monitoring. These agencies include the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), NZ Police and the Department of Corrections among others.
The main one question around social media monitoring is interpretation. What if a clueless employer asks a question which makes it look like an intent to exploit migrants? Can a poorly-worded question on an online forum lead to allegations of Immigration Fraud?
As mentioned in the RNZ article some Muslim groups feel they will be vulnerable to targeting from social media monitoring.
Isn’t Social Media Monitoring illegal?
Turns out no!
According to the Privacy Commissioner –
- the Bill of Rights Act (BORA) prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, the act does not have a specific right to privacy.
- the Search and Seizure Act 2012 governs Police and other agencies search and surveillance authority, it does not address social media.
- the Privacy Act 2020 requires that Government agencies have a lawful purpose in collecting private information – it does not appear to cover information posted publicly.
Social media monitoring by MBIE is legal.
Seek expert advice
For goodness sake – don’t ask Dr Google or Dr Facebook – seek expert advice.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to IDESI LEGAL for guidance and support.
Contact us today . If visiting our Auckland or Wellington office is not feasible, we offer online consultations. Call us at 044616018 to schedule a virtual meeting. We have extensive experience in New Zealand immigration law.
