PILLAR launches 2026 Campaigns to push back against growing state control
Media Release | 12 January 2026 | For Immediate Release
Civil liberties organisation PILLAR (Protecting Individual Life, Liberty and Rights) has announced three major campaigns for 2026, warning that New Zealand is drifting toward increased censorship, surveillance, and political control.
The campaigns will focus on digital freedom and privacy, foreign interference, and the 2026 General Election.
PILLAR says proposals such as a U16 social media ban, an Online Safety Commissioner, and expanded digital ID systems mark a turning point for how New Zealanders live, speak, and participate in public life.
“These policies are being sold as safety and convenience, but they come at the cost of freedom,” said PILLAR Executive Director Nathan Seiuli. “Once the government controls how you prove who you are, what you can say online, and who can access digital platforms, liberty becomes conditional.”
PILLAR is also raising the alarm over growing foreign and political interference. Following recent warnings from the NZSIS that New Zealand’s threat environment has never been more tense, the organisation is calling for the introduction of a Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.
“New Zealanders deserve to know who is influencing decisions inside our democracy,” said Seiuli. “Transparency is not radical. It is the bare minimum for a free and sovereign country.”
Looking ahead to the 2026 General Election, PILLAR says it will be on the front lines opposing censorship laws and state overreach, regardless of which political party proposes them.
“We are watching overseas governments weaponise so-called hate speech laws to silence dissent, and that mindset is creeping into New Zealand politics,” said Seiuli. “Democracy does not survive when speech is policed and disagreement is treated as harm.”
PILLAR says its 2026 campaigns are about drawing a clear line.
“We stand for a New Zealand where freedom is the default, not a privilege granted by the state,” said Seiuli.
For information about PILLAR’s 2026 campaigns and future updates, visit www.nzpillar.com.
ENDS
MEDIA CONTACT | Nathan Seiuli | nathan@nzpillar.com