When censorship becomes necessary: David Shanks at TEDxChristchurch

A few weeks ago Chief Censor David Shanks spoke about the complexities of our work – and its personal impact – at TEDxChristchurch.

If you want to know more about what we do, and how we do it, have a look (you might be surprised).

The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act says that, "Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including the right to seek, receive, and impart information and opinions of any kind in any form."

And yet, some content is so heinous, and risks causing so much damage, that it must be limited for the safety of society.

In this harrowing, thought-provoking and challenging talk, New Zealand Chief Censor David Shanks talks about the challenges of finding where to draw that line and the paradox that sits at the heart of freedom of speech, using the specific example of the live stream video of the Christchurch mosque attack in March 2019.