The New Zealand government has announced a new law criminalising the exposure of classified government information, the New Zealand Herald reports, with a penalty of up to five years in prison.
As the Herald writes, the legislation will apply to those “who hold a government security clearance, or those given access to classified information, who wrongfully communicate, retain or copy it.”
Those who “encounter evidence of wrong-doing can make a protected disclosure to the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security,” but going to the media will incur charges and prison time.
Meanwhile, the legislation expands surveillance powers for New Zealand’s Government Communications Security Bureau, authorizing spying on New Zealanders’ private information.
It also expands the types of warrants spy agencies can apply for, such as warrants based on classes of people or “purpose-based” warrants, specifying a certain type of information.
While the government denies the new law is in response to Edward Snowden’s revelations, the powers it grants stand counter to the global tide of support for whistleblowing and scrutiny on surveillance. As the international debate has led tech companies to increase encryption, supporters to call for Snowden’s freedom, and governments to hold enquiries into their spying powers, New Zealand is widening its net to sweep up data and then tightening its grip on what it collects.
This new legislation — which could still be altered, as critics call for narrower language — is the latest Five Eyes crackdown on whistleblowers. The US has ramped up its use of the Espionage Act to silence truthtellers, the UK’s Investigatory Powers Bill has expanded penalties for disclosing government orders, Australia introduced a 10-year penalty for disclosure written broadly enough to punish journalists, and Canada has become a “dangerous wasteland” for whistleblowers. Now New Zealand is following suit, surveilling its citizens and imprisoning those who speak out against it.