Are deepfakes illegal in New Zealand?

The law today

Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015. It’s an offence to post a digital communication intending to cause someone harm, where it would cause harm to an ordinary reasonable person in their position and it does cause them harm (serious emotional distress). The maximum penalty is two years’ imprisonment or a $50,000 fine.

In May 2026, a man was sentenced in the North Shore District Court under this Act for creating and posting manipulated sexual images. 1News reported it as the first such sentencing in New Zealand. The prosecution could proceed because his confession showed intent to cause harm, which is often hard to prove.

Intimate visual recordings. Sharing an intimate visual recording without consent is a separate offence, added to the Harmful Digital Communications Act in 2022. The Crimes Act’s intimate visual recording offences were designed for real, covert recordings, which makes them a poor fit for fabricated images.

The bill

The Deepfake Digital Harm and Exploitation Bill, a member’s bill, would:

• make it an offence to create, share or sell sexually explicit deepfakes of someone without their consent
• expand the definition of “intimate visual recording” to include images that are created, synthesised or altered, so victims wouldn’t have to prove intent to harm

It passed its first reading unanimously in May 2026 and went to select committee. Business before Parliament at an election has to be reinstated by the new Parliament to continue, so check the bill’s current status before relying on it.

Non-sexual deepfakes

Fake videos or audio used to defame, defraud or harass someone can fall under other laws, including defamation, fraud, the Harassment Act, or the Harmful Digital Communications Act if they’re harmful communications. Voice-cloning scams, where criminals imitate a family member or a boss to ask for money, are fraud.

If it’s happened to you

1. Keep evidence: screenshots, links, usernames and dates.
2. Report it to the platform as non-consensual intimate imagery or impersonation.
3. Contact Netsafe (0508 638 723). Netsafe can work with platforms to get content removed.
4. Contact Police, especially if there are threats or demands.
5. Stop it spreading. StopNCII.org can create a fingerprint of the image on your device so participating platforms can block it, without you uploading the image. For images of anyone under 18, use Take It Down.

See intimate images shared or threatened for more.