four years since the Harmful Digital Communications Act was enacted in NZ

We've mentioned the problem of cyber-bullying before and this Act, aimed at combating it within NZ, has come into the spotlight with the announcement by the government of its intention to place more restrictions on 'hate speech'.

The cynical say that by 'hate speech' the government means means opposition to its policies and agenda, or in fact improper conduct by anyone in the establishment.  MP David Seymour says that it has been used by lawyers to muffle the media, and there is evidence of that.

However, Mr Seymour's proposal that the Act be confined to those aged under 18 is likely to be a case of 'throwing the baby out with the bathwater'.

Recently, one of us has had to take action under the Harmful Digital Communications Act against a certain notorious troll who lives in Hamilton and two of his cronies, one in Silverstream, after an orchestrated campaign of abuse and defamation, so victims of the sort of behaviour the Act was put there to fight aren't confined to adolescents.

The Act seems to be effective, but it needs a clearer statement of what it is there to do, and what it is not there to do.