Inquiry into the harms young New Zealanders encounter online.

MEDIA RELEASE | 05 MARCH 2026 | For immediate release

PILLAR says the recommendations in today’s Inquiry into the harms young New Zealanders encounter online risk undermining fundamental freedoms while offering little evidence they will actually improve child safety.

The report proposes sweeping new controls on the digital environment, including the creation of an “independent national regulator for online safety”. In practice, this would function as an online regulator with broad authority over how New Zealanders access and communicate online.

PILLAR Executive Director Nathan Seiuli says the proposals place freedom of expression, access to information, and personal privacy at risk.

“This report moves away from protecting young people and instead moves toward forcing New Zealanders to share their identity online and submit to a new layer of regulation,” says Seiuli.

“Protecting young people should never come at the expense of the privacy and freedoms of every New Zealander.”

The inquiry positions New Zealand as a “fast follower” of regulatory models emerging in the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Australia. 

Seiuli says there is little evidence these overseas approaches have actually improved child safety. “While these nations fail to prove child safety has improved, the number of non-criminal arrests have dramatically increased for things like online speech, sharing of posts, and even memes.”

“There is no credible data showing these policies have made children safer overseas. Without that evidence, there is no reason to believe they will succeed here.”

The report itself acknowledges that young people may bypass proposed age verification systems. Despite this, it still recommends their introduction.

Seiuli says the committee appears to have jumped straight to regulation without clearly defining the problem it was meant to solve.

ACT in their own statements said “The committee has categorically and embarrassingly failed in its approach. It has moved straight to heavy-handed solutions before properly identifying the true problem.”

PILLAR made a submission to the inquiry in October 2025 that focused on parental responsibility, digital education, and targeted enforcement against illegal content. Experts in the months since have reinforced that these approaches are the most effective ways to address online harms without imposing sweeping restrictions on lawful speech.

The report also recommends exploring restrictions on VPN use, which could limit New Zealanders’ ability to access the open internet.

“Restricting VPNs would place New Zealand alongside countries like North Korea, Iraq, China, Iran, Russia, and other authoritarian states  that tightly control how citizens access the internet,” says Seiuli.

“The introduction of mandatory identity verification, a taxpayer-funded online regulator, and expanded censorship powers cannot be allowed to take hold in a free and democratic society.”

Seiuli says PILLAR will strongly oppose any attempt to implement the report’s recommendations.

“This inquiry has opened the door to widespread online control, censorship, and state monitoring of lawful behaviour online. That is not a direction New Zealand should be heading.”

ENDS

Media contact: Nathan Seiuli - nathan@nzpillar.com