Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Crimes Act 1961

Crimes against personal privacy - Intimate visual recordings

216K: Exceptions to prohibition in section 216J

You could also call this:

“Rules about when it's okay to share private pictures or videos of someone”

There are some situations where the rules about intimate visual recordings don’t apply. If you’re doing your job under the law, you can make, publish, or import these recordings. You can also show these recordings to certain people mentioned in another part of the law.

If you help people access a recording without knowing it’s an intimate visual recording, you’re not breaking the law. This includes things like delivering the recording, sending it over a network, or storing it electronically so others can access it.

The law defines some terms to help explain this. A courier is someone who runs a courier business. A network operator is defined in another law about telecommunications. A postal operator is defined in the law about postal services. A public data network is explained in the telecommunications law. A service provider is someone who gives internet or email access using a public data network, but isn’t a network operator.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM329865.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal law
Rights and equality > Privacy
Previous

216J: Prohibition on publishing, importing, exporting, or selling intimate visual recording, or

“It's against the law to share, bring in, take out, or sell private pictures or videos of people without their permission.”

Next

216L: Disposal and forfeiture, or

“The court can order the destruction of illegal recordings and the seizure of equipment used to make them.”

Part 9A Crimes against personal privacy
Intimate visual recordings

216KExceptions to prohibition in section 216J

  1. Nothing in section 216J(1)(a), (b), or (c) applies to anything done by any person in the course of, or in connection with, exercising or performing any powers, duties, or functions under any enactment.

  2. Nothing in section 216J(1)(a) applies to any person by reason only of that person publishing an intimate visual recording to a person referred to in section 216N(1).

  3. Nothing in section 216J applies to any person who, not knowing or suspecting that a visual recording is an intimate visual recording, facilitates access to that recording by reason only of providing some or all of the means necessary for—

  4. delivery of the recording in physical form (for example, by a postal operator or courier); or
    1. transmission (other than by broadcasting) of the recording (for example, by a network operator or service provider providing only a network or facility through which a recording is transmitted); or
      1. storage of the recording electronically in a way that is accessible by any other person or persons.

        1. In subsection (3), unless the context otherwise requires,—

          courier means a person carrying on business as a courier

            network operator has the same meaning as in section 3 of the Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) Act 2013

              postal operator has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Postal Services Act 1998

                public data network has the same meaning as in section 5 of the Telecommunications Act 2001

                  service provider—

                  1. means a person providing Internet access, email access, or both of those facilities, by means of a public data network; but
                    1. does not include a network operator.

                    Notes
                    • Section 216K: inserted, on , by section 4 of the Crimes (Intimate Covert Filming) Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 75).
                    • Section 216K(4) network operator: amended, on , by section 40 of the Telecommunications (New Regulatory Framework) Amendment Act 2018 (2018 No 48).