The Department of Internal Affairs

Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs

Building a safe, prosperous and respected nation



 

Media and online content regulation

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Safer Online Services and Media Platforms

About the current content regulatory system

New Zealand’s current system for reducing the risk of harm from content comprises:

  • the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993, and
  • the Broadcasting Act 1989,
  • as well as voluntary self-regulation by operators (including through schemes run by the New Zealand Media Council and the Advertising Standards Authority).

The Office of Film and Literature Classification and the Broadcasting Standards Authority are statutory regulators under their respective regimes.

New Zealand’s content regulatory system seeks to prevent harm from exposure to damaging or illegal content. It does this through a combination of classifications and ratings to provide consumer information, and standards to reflect community values. These tools are designed to prevent harm from people viewing unwanted or unsuitable content, while protecting freedom of expression.

About the Safer Online Services and Media Platforms review - (June 2021 - May 2024)

The Safer Online Services and Media Platforms (SOSMP) review, formerly known as the Content Regulatory Review, was an initiative led by the Department with support from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. The project started in June 2021 and finished in May 2024. The objective of this work was to improve the regulation of online services and media platforms to boost consumer safety for all New Zealanders, with a particular focus on minimising content harms for children and young people.
The review sought to design a modern, flexible, and simple regulatory system able to:

  • cover all major media platforms, including social media that is broadly outside the existing regulatory regimes
  • respond to the types of harm caused by the wide variety of content and content platforms we interact with;
  • adapt to emerging technologies, any new content platforms and future shifts in societal values or expectations; and
  • make it easier for users to navigate if they have a content-related concern; for content creators and providers to comply with; and for regulators to regulate.

Public consultation: Safer Online Services and Media Platforms - June 2023

Public consultation on proposals to regulate online services and media platforms in New Zealand ran from 1 June to 31 July 2023. During this period, the Department received over 20,000 submissions.

Discussion document

The discussion document outlined the Department’s proposals to improve the regulation of online content platforms to boost consumer safety for all New Zealanders.

Summary report

The Department has released a report of the submissions received. The report provides a summary of key themes that emerged from submissions made by stakeholder groups and individuals on the proposals outlined in the discussion document.

Correction – page 25 of this report included the figure 18, 500 when published, this was corrected to 18, 970 on 6 May 2024.

Proactive release of submissions

The Department has proactively released submissions received on the Safer Online Services and Media Platforms discussion document. The proactive release is to supplement the summary report and to provide an accurate and inclusive representation of the feedback the Department received. These submissions have been split into those made by organisations and those made by individuals. Submissions that requested confidentiality have been withheld in full. The submissions appear in no particular order.

Individual submissions received through third-party submissions processes have not been released because we cannot be certain that our privacy requirements have been met. Those submissions may be available through the organisation that collected the submissions information. The aggregate data and the template provided by these organisations has been released as part of the summary of submissions above.

Content warning

Please be aware that some submissions contain explicit and offensive content, including coarse language, content that may disturb, offensive themes, offensive language and references to violence, drug use, self-harm, sexual violence and suicide themes. These submissions were received from the public and in no way reflect the views of the Department. Some contain inaccurate information and should not be relied upon without taking steps to verify the information.

Additional review documents

Report from initial targeted engagement

Report summarising key themes from initial targeted engagement can be found here:

Cabinet material and key advice papers

Cabinet material and key advice papers relating to the release of the discussion document on modernising the regulatory framework for media and online content in Aotearoa New Zealand has been proactively released, below:

The Cabinet paper, its associated minutes and supporting information briefings to initiate the Content Regulatory System Review have been released, below:

Note that the briefing The Department’s recommended approach to a review of the content regulatory system reflects the Department’s independent early thinking and that there are no plans for two separate reviews.

Research reports

Report: International Regulatory Frameworks for Online Content

DIA commissioned Associate Professor Peter A. Thompson and Senior lecturer Michael S. Daubs from the Media and Communication programme at Victoria University of Wellington | Te Herenga Waka to undertake a research study on current international developments to regulate harmful content. The timeframe of analysis for this research report was July 2021-November 2021.

Report: International Regulatory Frameworks for Online Content [PDF, 2.8MB]

Executive Digest: International Regulatory Frameworks for Online Content  [PDF, 600KB]

Report: Mapping Media Content Harms

DIA commissioned Professor Miriam Lips and Dr Elizabeth Eppel at Victoria University of Wellington | Te Herenga Waka to undertake a research study to provide a deeper evidence-backed understanding of the harm experienced by New Zealanders related to content. They were also asked to develop a conceptual framework to inform the Content Regulatory Review. The timeframe of analysis for this research report was June 2021- September 2022.

Report: Mapping Media Content Harms [PDF, 1MB]

Discussion Document 

Executive Summary

The Executive Summary is a short summary of the discussion document.

Read the Executive Summary in Te Reo Māori:

View the Executive Summary in NZ Sign Language:

Hear the Executive Summary in English:

Read the Large print accessible format Executive Summary:

Factsheet

The factsheet is an overview of the proposals in the full discussion document.

Hear the Executive Factsheet in English:

Read the Large print accessible format Executive Factsheet:

Read the factsheet in each of the following languages:

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