Proposed reform to online censorship would see a Super-Regulator established which would control what you're allowed to say online; on your social media, in podcasts, or on blogs. This Regulator would make the rules, but without input from the public, and without Parliamentary control.
Kiwis don't need an unaccountable body telling them what ideas are 'harmful' or what content makes them 'unsafe'. We already have strong laws against extreme material. These changes will be weaponised to silence your beliefs and expression.
This is about ideas that make individuals “feel unsafe”. This is about silencing certain perspectives, views or speech.
While the intention to address “safety” and online “harm” is arguably laudable, the cure is worse than the disease. This is an inelegant solution to the “lawful but awful” category of speech, which is best addressed through counter-speech. Frameworks of this kind do nothing to increase mature discourse or community interconnectedness. On the contrary, they breed suspicion and division. Silencing Kiwis online does not promote social cohesion or build trust.
Kiwis will see this work as nothing more than online hate speech laws, and will resist this overreach also.
"We call on all political parties to refuse to implement the Department of Internal Affairs' proposed media censorship reform, and commit to maintaining free speech online."
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Lori Mackie signed 2023-10-10 00:25:09 +1300 -