Online name suppression laws to be tightened

A notice-and-take-down provision for internet hosts and ISPs that facilitate breach of Court name-suppression orders is part of planned changes to the law governing suppression of name and other details of defendants, victims and witnesses. The planned changes were announced by Justice Minister Simon Power today.

Reform follows a Law Commission paper on suppression and include “introducing a new offence to capture New Zealand-based internet service providers or content hosts who do not remove locally hosted suppressed information which they know is in breach of a suppression order, and who fail to block access or remove it as soon as reasonably practicable.”

The suggested reforms will also increase the penalties for breach of name-suppression and evidence-suppression orders. The maximum fine for organizations that breach suppression goes up from $5,000 to $100,000.

For individuals breaching suppression orders the maximum term of imprisonment will be doubled, from 3 months to 6 months. “Judges will also be able to impose a fine of their discretion in lieu of imprisonment if the circumstances warrant it,” says Power. The current maximum fine is $1,000.

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