We are reissuing this newsletter to correct errors in the In Person section.                      We sincerely apologise for the errors and hope you enjoy the second read.

MARCH NEWSLETTER

Kia ora koutou,

A busy start to the year for the Classification office means we’re coming to your inbox later than planned this month.

Our work is changing, essential given the shifts in our media consumption patterns and how they affect real world behaviour.

We have some important changes coming later this year including a new system for classifying content on online streaming and video on demand services.

The ongoing pandemic and our response will continue to mean additional layers of complexity to our professional and personal lives. More than ever, it’s crucial we look after each other and ourselves and whānau. Of course, taking a mindful approach to our media consumption is an important part of this and the Classification Office can help with that.

Our newsletters generally talk about topics like sex, drugs, and the media content landscape. Our aim is to have difficult conversations and shine a light on ways to reduce harm for New Zealanders. If you know someone who should be receiving these updates please do share our newsletter or encourage them to subscribe here.

#WatchTogether #TalkTogether
 

“To all of the adults out there, I strongly advocate that you choose to engage with young people and find a way to integrate a youth voice into your organisation. But remember, working with us is only halfway there. To truly achieve integration, really listen to what we have to say, and think about how you can take onboard our ideas.”— Alexi, Youth Advisory Panel Member

The Classification Office has been working alongside the Youth Advisory Panel since 2018. Working closely with rangatahi has transformed our Office: the value they individually and collectively bring has exceeded all expectations. We’re excited to unveil the 2020 Youth Advisory Report which provides a summary of the past year’s mahi including collaborations with different government organisations and NGOs, our porn campaign on Instagram, Commercial Video-on-Demand submissions and engagement with policy advisors at the Department of Internal Affairs, and consultation on specific film titles which directly informed classification work (Tiger King, The Girl on the Bridge [link]). A huge thank you to past and present Youth Advisory Panel members for their time and commitment to giving rangatahi a voice and informing the work we do.

Read the full report on our website.

“Love that I can talk about serious things and have a laugh too.” — Panel member

***SPOILER ALERT***

Judas and the Black Messiah: the Classification decision

Judas and the Black Messiah is a compelling biopic about the politics of revolution in the late sixties. It is based on the life of activist, Fred Hampton, chairman of the Black Panther Party in late 1960s Chicago. In the wake of Martin Luther King Junior’s death, Bill O’Neal is bribed by an FBI agent into infiltrating the Black Panther Party as an informant.

Highly anticipated, the film will appeal to fans of director, Shaka King, and actors Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield. It has merit both as a piece of art and for its historical relevance to the Black Lives Matter movement. 

The film deals with crime, cruelty and violence. The dramatisation of the corruption and racism of the FBI and police is likely to be upsetting to many but is not likely to cause harm. While the violence is generally inexplicit, brief spurts of blood are likely to shock and disturb children. Also of concern is the extensive use of highly offensive language, which is likely to have a normalising and inuring effect on children. Teenagers and adults are more likely to have the maturity to understand when racially-charged offensive language can be used and by whom.

R13 | Violence, cruelty and offensive language
 

Pornhub creating a safer space  

We’re thrilled to see Pornhub adopting a tool to intervene when people search for content that is indicative of Child Sexual Abuse Material. The deterrence message guides the user to seek help from Safe to talk (Kōrero mai ka ora), a sexual harm helpline that provides confidential non-judgemental support 24 hours, 7 days a week. Similar interventions are on Facebook, Instagram and other platforms and the work is being undertaken as part of the social responsibility strategy by Pathfinder Labs, working with Home Care Medical. Pathfinder Labs are seeking to create an industry standard across the adult platforms.
Ka rawe!

“If we don’t have diversity in our board rooms, our experiences aren’t as broad, our stories aren’t as rich, and our society is weakened through lack of insight” — Aarif Rasheed

The Classification Office represented this month at the New Ec(h)o systems: Democracy in the age of social media conference hosted by the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at University of Otago. Alexi from our Youth Advisory Panel and Chief Censor David Shanks participated in talks about the problems and opportunities of social media now. Other conference participants included journalists, policy advisors, community advocates and social media executives. Videos of the various discussions are being made available on the NCPCS Facebook page. The conference was also covered by the Otago Daily Times.

ON-AIR

Following on from the New Ec(h)o Systems conference RNZ Mediawatch’s Colin Peacock talked with Chief Censor David Shanks about new censorship regulations being proposed by government at the moment and the potentially how far these proposed changes would go in reducing harm and/or restricting freedom of expression.

Battle against online harm beefs up Censors power (broadcast Sunday 21 March)

FYI The Films, Videos, and Publications Classification (Urgent Interim Classification of Publications and Prevention of Online Harm) Amendment Bill is currently at the select committee stage and submissions are being accepted until Thursday 1 April.

ONLINE

Our annual report is now on our website. It features an excellent round up of the office’s work in what was an extraordinary year by our Chief Censor David Shanks as well as detailed information about our financial and operational performance.

newsroom.co.nz

Marc Daalder at Newsroom interviewed Chief Censor David Shanks for a story on livestream broadcasts and the grey area that the Colorado footage of the aftermath of a mass shooting occupies. Shooting livestream shows ‘grey space’ of online harm

Because our work involves a broad knowledge of the vast online landscape, we consume a lot of media in the office. Here are just a few of the things we’ve enjoyed digesting over the past few months.

Australian 'myth-busting' unit established to take on Covid misinformation [The Guardian]

The Extreme Gone Mainstream- Commercialization and far right youth culture in Germany [Cynthia Miller-Idriss]

The Identity Hoaxers. What if people don’t just invent medical symptoms to get attention—what if they feign oppression, too? [The Atlantic]

Duncan Greive talks with Hal Crawford on reviewing the NZ Media Fund [The Spinoff’s The Fold podcast]

Your Loved Ones, and Eerie Tom Cruise Videos, Reanimate Unease With Deepfakes [The New York Times]