Summarised by Centrist
More than 2,000 New Zealanders have written to Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith calling on him to stop the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) from extending its powers to online media.
The Free Speech Union says the backlash shows growing concern about what it calls an “extraordinary overreach” by the state regulator.
The BSA recently claimed jurisdiction over online broadcaster The Platform after a complaint was lodged against host Sean Plunket, who referred to tikanga Māori as “mumbo jumbo” in a July broadcast.
The case could allow the BSA to investigate and rule on online content for the first time, despite existing law limiting its authority to television and radio.
Free Speech Union chief executive Jillaine Heather said the BSA was acting without parliamentary approval. “Kiwis don’t want unelected bureaucrats appointing themselves as the censor of the modern internet,” she said.
Heather warned that such action could have a chilling effect on open debate, allowing the BSA to suppress controversial or unpopular views under “broad and subjective standards.”
She said the government had long known that online media sits outside the BSA’s legal scope. “Instead of leaving that gap for Parliament to address, the BSA has chosen to fill it itself,” she said. The union is urging Parliament to clarify the limits of the BSA’s authority and ensure future reforms protect free expression.
The BSA, created in 1989, regulates radio and television but has never before applied its standards to digital-only media such as podcasts or livestreams.
