7 July 2026
Responding to reporting of Erica
Stanford ruling out “restricting or banning VPNs”
(https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/361038645/oppressive-government-looks-vpn-ban-or-restrictions-part-under-16-social-media-ban),
Jillaine Heather, Chief Executive of the Free Speech Union
says:
“We know that yesterday the Beehive were
proposing to ban VPNs, but today the idea is dead. That’s
a welcome development but still leaves considerable
uncertainty.”
“Erica Stanford needs to guarantee
that the freedoms and rights of adults to safely and
privately access the internet will not be affected by her
proposed regime. Banning kids from social media is one
thing, but requiring grown ups to front up with ‘papers’
to access perfectly legal platforms is quite
another.”
In Budget 2026, the Government allocated
$30 million over four years to “develop policy and
possible regulatory options to improve children’s online
safety”. In April, the Department of Internal Affairs
advertised for a Programme Implementation Director before
any bill had been introduced to Parliament.
“While a
VPN ban now appears off the table, we are none the wiser
about what censorship tools are being built behind closed
doors. Do they too follow in the footsteps of China, Iran,
and North Korea?”
“If the Government wants a
Ministry of Censorship, it should ask Parliament for one,
not pre-assemble it inside the DIA with no debate, no vote,
and no scrutiny.”
“Free societies do not build
censorship infrastructure by stealth and deny it one leak at
a
time.”
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