A Civil Liberties organisation says there has has been a series of civil rights abuses over the release of information on users of the internet trading site, Trade Me.
The files of about 3,000 people were released to police by Trade Me.
The information is now in the hands of the defence lawyers for 16 people accused of firearms offences arising from the high profile police raids last October, and relate to anybody who made transactions with eight individuals.
The lawyer for one of the 16 accused, Jamie Lockett, says his client now has the files.
The Auckland Council for Civil Liberties accuses Trade Me of not bothering to protect the privacy of its clients, saying it should have challenged the police request.
And it says the defence lawyers should have passed on only information relevant to a client's case, rather than all the files.
