Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) is consulting on a proposed approach to regulate online services and media platforms in New Zealand.

The changes are needed because our main pieces of legislation that directly regulate content are over 30 years old.

Their core features are still relevant (e.g., codes of practice, protecting children from age-inappropriate content and censoring the most abhorrent words and images). But the legislation has a lot of gaps, it doesn’t cover the wide range of harms people are experiencing across online services and media platforms.

The system can’t keep up with new technologies and it's been relying on slow, reactive interventions, which only take effect after people have already been harmed.

DIA is proposing to change the way that online services and media platforms are regulated, with the major change being the way that social media platforms are regulated.

A discussion document introduces ways to protect New Zealanders from being exposed to harmful content, while maintaining the existing freedoms.

Read the discussion documents and find out how to give feedback to DIA about Safer Online Services and Media Platforms.

Consultation closes Monday 31 July.