This page is about a bill. That means that it's not the law yet, but some people want it to be the law. It could change quickly, and some of the information is just a draft.

Deepfake Digital Harm and Exploitation Bill

Introduction

You could also call this:

"Breaking down the law into smaller parts to understand what each section means"

Illustration for Deepfake Digital Harm and Exploitation Bill

The proposed law has parts that explain what each section means. You will see that Clause 1 is just the title of the law. Clause 2 says when the law will start, which is the day after it is agreed to by the government. The law proposes to change the Crimes Act 1961 to include fake intimate images. This means that rules about intimate images will also apply to fake ones. You will be protected from fake intimate images that are created or altered to look real. The law also proposes to change the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015. This change will include fake intimate images in the rules about harmful digital communications. This means that creating or sharing fake intimate images could be against the law.

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This page was last updated on 27 October 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1536413-clause-by-clause-analysis.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Criminal lawRights and equality > Anti-discrimination

General policy statement, or

"Protecting You from Harmful Fake Images and Videos"

1: Title, or

"This law is about stopping digital harm from fake online content."

Clause by clause analysis

Clause 1 is the Title clause.

Clause 2 is the commencement clause and provides for the Bill to come into force on the day after Royal assent.

Part 1 amends the Crimes Act 1961 to extend the definition of intimate visual recording to include images that are created, synthesised, or altered to appear to be intimate visual images. This extension will mean that the provisions relating to intimate visual images (sections 216H to 216N) will apply to created images.

Part 2 amends the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 to extend the definition of intimate visual recording in that Act to include images that are created, synthesised, or altered to appear to be intimate visual images. This extension will mean that the offence in section 22A of the Act will apply to created images.