Application of New Zealand Privacy Law to drones

Abstract

There has been rapid growth in the availability and use of small-scale drones1 in recent years, driven by the private benefits available to the drone operator. For a recreational operator the motivation may be enjoyment, but for the commercial operator there is the ability to gather information at lower cost and lower risk than previously possible, and potentially to gather information that could not previously  be gathered in a cost-effective manner. Drones also give rise to a number of costs, most notably safety-related and privacyrelated, which by their nature are borne by third parties.  A mechanism is required for the drone operator to internalise these costs if efficient use of drones is to be achieved.