An administrator of a "landlords only" Facebook group has been ordered to pay $7500 after a tenant was refused access to possible information posted about them
The Human Rights Review Tribunal found that the group, called "Bad Tenants, New Zealand (Landlords Only)", had breached the Privacy Act by refusing to provide the requested information.
On the closed Facebook group, members reportedly exchanged information about their former tenants. They would publish lists of tenants deemed to be "undesirable", according to the tribunal.
The complainant, Adam Sheehan, first heard about groups like Bad Tenants, New Zealand, through news articles in 2021.
Concerned about the implications for tenants, he wanted to know if any of his former landlords had shared "exaggerated or false information" with the groups. He wanted to see if any personal information shared about him could have led to tenancy difficulties.
He had requested information from the group and from one of its administrators, Wayne Wilson. When he received no response, he tried to join the group by submitting answers directed at admins to prompt a reply to his requests.
Sheehan's requests were ignored, and he was blocked, so he complained to the Privacy Commissioner.
The Commissioner issued an access direction, requiring the group to release the information.
The group did not comply, so Sheehan brought a claim against it for a breach of the Privacy Act and to enforce the Commissioner’s direction.
Wilson emailed the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, saying Sheehan was not a member of the group. He said the only information kept by the group was the names of its members, and "no information was [kept] on the server about anyone”.
He also advised that he was no longer the group's admin and said he would remove his name from the online Facebook Page. In the following days, the group's name was changed to “Landlord Property Mangers Seeking Tenants Advice”.
As the group was not a legal entity, the Tribunal made Wilson a representative defendant on behalf of all 3100 members.
The tribunal found that Wilson had breached the Privacy Act by failing to respond to Sheehan's request. It also found that privacy law applied to social media groups, administrators, and users.
Sheehan was awarded $7500 in damages for "anxiety and distress", to be paid by Wilson. Wilson was also ordered to respond to Sheehan's request.
“I’m pleased with the result; it felt important to me to see this case through, if only to help current or future tenants who find themselves in this situation,” Sheehan said.
Throughout the tribunal process, Wilson did not engage "at any stage" and did not file a statement responding to Sheehan's complaints, despite being given opportunities to do so. He did not attend any hearings.
'Costly reminder'
Director of human rights proceedings Greg Robins said the Tribunal's decision was a "costly reminder" that social media users were not exempt from privacy law.
“All people joining Facebook groups or any other social media platform should be aware that sharing personal information about other people is no different to sharing it over email.
“Members and administrators of those groups should comply with the Privacy Act in all cases, including when a person asks for a copy of their information.”
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