Banned or illegal content

Objectionable content—including text, video, images, and audio—is banned by law in New Zealand, meaning it’s illegal to view, share, or create. This includes content promoting things like extreme violence, sexual violence, child sexual exploitation, or terrorism. We classify content as ‘objectionable’ when it crosses a legal line and is likely to be harmful to society as a whole.

Understanding what is objectionable and knowing how to respond can help protect yourself and others from harm. Stay informed and think about the type of content you watch and share, and report anything that doesn’t feel right.

This page provides some general information about banned or illegal content and is not intended as legal advice. The Classification Office assesses and classifies content using legal criteria in the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993. A simplified breakdown of the classification criteria is available on our website here.

How does content get banned?

Content can be classified as restricted or objectionable if it depicts or deals with things like sex, horror, crime, cruelty, or violence, in a way that would be harmful to society. There is a very high threshold for banning content—we’re talking about material so harmful that it has no place in society, such as content that promotes or exploits sexual violence, extreme cruelty, or serious criminal activity.

The classification system balances the need to protect New Zealanders from harmful content while respecting the right to freedom of expression. Under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, New Zealanders have the right to see, hear, or read information of any kind, subject to reasonable limits set out in law.

Our role includes classifying potentially objectionable material submitted by enforcement agencies and the courts. This forensic work involves the expert examination of harmful content, often in relation to criminal investigations.

While certain content is clearly illegal, other material may be harmful and come close to the legal threshold. Understanding where the legal line is—and what this content looks like—can help you avoid engaging with it and ensure you know what to do if you encounter it online.

What types of content are objectionable?

Before we go any further, we want to give you a heads-up—what follows includes references to distressing and harmful material. If you or someone you know is struggling with exposure to harmful content or online experiences, see the information below about helplines.

Determining a classification is partly about what’s depicted, but also how it’s depicted, and its potential to cause serious harm. We focus on some key things when determining if content crosses the legal line, including whether it:

  • Exploits – Involves taking advantage of someone, particularly in a way that causes harm or violates their rights, such as in cases of child sexual abuse material.
  • Promotes – Refers to content that actively encourages or normalises harmful or criminal behaviours, making them seem acceptable or desirable.
  • Incites – Applies to material that directly encourages or instructs people to commit harmful or illegal acts, such as violent extremist content.
  • Degrades or dehumanises – Portrays individuals, particularly in sexual or violent contexts, in a way that strips them of dignity or humanity, reinforcing harmful attitudes or presenting certain groups as inherently inferior.

Content is always classified as objectionable if it promotes or supports specific types of harmful behaviours. These include:

  • Sexual exploitation of children or young people – This includes child sexual abuse material (CSAM), or any content that promotes the sexual exploitation of children or young people. In general, sexual content depicting children and younger teenagers is likely to be objectionable, and this can include real life situations or cartoon, animated or AI generated or manipulated content.
  • Sexual violence – Content depicting rape, or other non-consensual sexual activity, is objectionable if presented in a way that supports sexual violence or coercion.
  • Torture, extreme violence or extreme cruelty – This can include graphic depictions of severe physical or psychological harm inflicted on people or animals. For example, acts of real-world violence, such as beheadings or executions, are objectionable if they promote extreme violence or cruelty.
  • Terrorist or violent extremist content – Content that encourages, promotes, or instructs acts of terrorism or violent extremism. This can include content depicting real-world violence or atrocities, or written terrorist ‘manifesto’ documents.
  • Bestiality or necrophilia – Content depicting and promoting sexual acts involving people and animals, or dead bodies.

We’ve included information below about how you might come across illegal content and how you can report it.

How you might come across objectionable content

Objectionable content can show up in unexpected ways, sometimes without you even looking for it. Here are some of the common ways people encounter it:

  • Trending on social media – Content can spread quickly, especially during major events or crises. Your algorithm may pick it up based on popularity, even if you haven't actively searched for it. Many social media platforms have tools to quickly identify and remove extremely harmful content to prevent this happening, but even with best efforts sometimes this content still gets through.
  • Algorithmic recommendations – Social media platforms and search engines suggest content based on what you’ve interacted with in the past. Over time, these platforms learn your interests and start showing you more content that aligns with your previous behaviour. This can sometimes lead to content that’s more extreme or disturbing, pulling you into a cycle of similar material. For more information about algorithms, read our blog here.
  • Shared by others – Harmful or illegal content can be shared either online or in person. Friends, group chats, or social feeds (like For You Page, newsfeeds, or stories) can expose you to harmful content. This can be intended to shock, disgust, or disturb others, or just passed along as a “joke” without realising the harmful impact. This can also happen with distressing footage, such as war or violent incidents, often shared by people trying to process what they've seen or raise awareness—sometimes without realising the content may be illegal.
  • Curiosity – If a topic is trending, people may actively seek out the content just to see what others are talking about. In some cases, people might be curious to see graphic or extreme content even if they know it might be harmful or distressing.
  • Grooming & manipulation – In some cases, harmful content is deliberately shared to normalise extreme ideas, groom individuals, or encourage illegal activities. For more information about these serious risks visit Netsafe.

What are the penalties for getting caught with objectionable content?

It’s against the law to engage with objectionable content in any way. This includes:

  • Having objectionable content in your possession, including digital files.
  • Viewing content online, whether or not you save or download it.
  • Creating, sharing or distributing content.

Possessing, creating or distributing objectionable content is against the law regardless of whether this is done knowingly or intentionally.

Penalties range from fines to imprisonment, depending on the type of offence. The most serious offences, such as knowingly distributing objectionable material, can result in up to 14 years' imprisonment.

These laws are in place to protect the public from harmful material. For more information see this plain English guide.

Who does the enforcement?

The Classification Office is not responsible for investigations or enforcement of the Classification Act—this is carried out by the Department of Internal Affairs, the New Zealand Police, and the New Zealand Customs Service.

For more information see our webpage on enforcement.

How to report objectionable content

If you come across material that you believe may be illegal or harmful, you can report it:

  • Child sexual abuse material or terrorist content – Report directly to the Department of Internal Affairs at dia.govt.nz.
  • Harmful online behaviour – If someone is harassing you online, sharing intimate images without consent, or engaging in harmful digital communication, you can report it to Netsafe at netsafe.org.nz.
  • Urgent concerns – If you are in immediate danger or need urgent help, contact Police at 111.

Questions about harmful content and the law

  • Are you unsure if something you’ve seen crosses the legal line?
  • Do you have questions about illegal or extremely harmful content?

You can contact the Classification Office here.

Need help or support?

If you or someone you know is struggling with exposure to harmful content or online experiences, support is available:

  • Free call Youthline 0800 376 633 or text 234 to talk with someone from a safe and youth-centred organisation.
  • Free call or text 1737 any time for support from a trained counsellor.
  • Free call OutLine Aotearoa 0800 688 5463 from 6pm-9pm any evening to talk to trained volunteers from Aotearoa’s rainbow communities.
  • For eating disorders support, contact the Eating Disorders Association of New Zealand (EDANZ) helpline on 0800 2 EDANZ / 0800 2 33269 or at info@ed.org.nz.
  • Free call Safe to Talk 0800 044 334, text 4334 or live chat to talk with someone about sexual harm.