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Attorney-General appeals Dotcom privacy win
Attorney-General appeals Dotcom privacy win
Ben Strang, Reporter
Kim Dotcom's legal fight to have the government release information it holds on him released has reached the High Court.
Kim Dotcom at his extradition appeal at the High Court in Auckland in 2016. Photo: AFP
The Crown has appealed a Human Rights Review Tribunal decision ruling Mr Dotcom's privacy had been breached when they failed to release private information about him.
In 2015, Mr Dotcom sent 52 requests to 28 ministers and government departments asking for all information being held about him.
The Solicitor-General declined the requests, saying they were vexatious, meaning they did not have sufficient grounds or were purely intended to be difficult.
In March, Mr Dotcom was awarded $90,000 in damages, with the Attorney-General ordered to pay $60,000 for "loss of dignity and injury to feelings". The remaining $30,000 was awarded for loss of benefits, being the release of the information.
The information was ordered to be released.
Representing the Attorney-General in the High Court in Wellington today, Victoria Casey said they were appealing the factual findings and the legal approach taken in the previous case.
She said there was no evidential basis for Mr Dotcom to be awarded $30,000 for loss of benefit, and said there was no evidence that his information was wrongly disclosed to cause harm to his feelings in regards to the $60,000 award.
The privacy commissioner rejected a complaint from Mr Dotcom, and Ms Casey said their decision "should hold considerable weight".
The appeal may take up to four days.
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