The 13, 13½ or 14 Privacy Principles?

There are few things New Zealand privacy professionals enjoy more than a good academic debate. For years, life was beautifully simple. The Privacy Act had 13 Information Privacy Principles (IPPs). We called them "the 13 IPPs" and everyone knew what we meant.

Then along came IPP 3A. Now, rather than renumbering everything from IPP 4 onwards (which would have made every policy document, training manual and legal commentary immediately out of date), we have a shiny new principle tucked neatly between IPP 3 and IPP 4.

Which naturally raises the question...What do we call them now?

Are they still the 13 IPPs, just with one that's a little more enthusiastic than the others? Are they the 13½ IPPs, because 3A feels like it's politely standing between two friends in the queue? Or do we simply admit there are now 14 Privacy Principles, while accepting that the numbering has entered its own alternate reality?

The decision to call it 3A actually makes perfect legislative sense. It avoids renumbering dozens of sections, regulations, guidance documents and years of commentary. It's practical. Efficient. It's also guaranteed to make every privacy professional pause at some point and consider how do we describe them.

Fortunately, whatever you're calling them, the important thing is understanding them. Which is why we've created our ThreeBlackCats Privacy Principles poster to include IPP 3A. Whether you're in Team 13, Team 13½ or Team 14, we've got you covered. We are going for Team 13½ 😊

Download it, print it, stick it on the office wall and save yourself from explaining, for the fifteenth time this week, why the Privacy Act appears to have discovered alphabetical numbering.

Some debates may never be settled. This is now one of them.