JUNE NEWSLETTER

Kia ora koutou,

We kick off our June newsletter with The Bare Facts: a collaboration with Netsafe to talk about the reality of sending intimate images online. We hope to encourage conversations with rangatahi about keeping safe and what they can do if images are shared without consent.

In the office we hosted members of the Governance and Administration Committee after our submission for the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification (Urgent Interim Classification of Publications and Prevention of Online Harm) Amendment Bill. Outside the office our Term 2 Censor for a Day programme travelled to the Bay of Plenty: we loved hearing from students about how they would rate the new release film Those Who Wish Me Dead. Over on our blog we talk about a new comic resource that talks frankly about sex and our newest staff member, Oli, visits the Censor for a Day screenings.  

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 receive these updates, please share our newsletter or encourage them to subscribe here. Be sure to follow our socials too, there's great nude content coming this month!

#WatchTogether #TalkTogether

Pictured: Presentation at our C4aD in the Bay of Plenty

The Classification Office and Netsafe this week launched the Bare Facts, a nationwide campaign designed to encourage open conversations about the reality of online intimate images.

Sharing nudes is part of everyday life for many young people in Aotearoa, but not all consider how their image may be made public or shared in ways they didn’t intend after the moment.

An important tool of the Bare Facts is an animated video explaining what happens to intimate images and why consent is important.

Caitlin, one of our Youth Facilitators, says parents should talk about consent and digital safety with their rangatahi.

"A lot of the time nudes aren't talked about and the risks aren't that obvious until it's too late. This campaign is important because it highlights those risks and helps young people make informed decisions about what they're doing."

The development and creation of The Bare Facts was informed by the Classification Office’s Youth Advisory Panel and Netsafe’s Youth Action Squad. The campaign empowers young people to have positive kōrero – with peers, parents, teachers and whānau – about why nudes are sent, the need for consent and how to get help if things don’t pan out.

This campaign is for both young people and whānau to wholly understand the risks of creating nudes, as well as understanding the consequences of not consenually sharing someone elses nude. Check out the full Bare Facts campaign online and our animation on our YouTube channel (handy for sharing).

If you think this content is worth sharing please do so. We are running content on our social media channels that might work for you: @OFLC on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram. 

In the media

Youth Facilitator Caitlin, Chief Censor David Shanks, and Netsafe's Martin Cocker speak to TVNZ about the reason for the Bare Facts campaign. 

'Do's and Don'ts' of sharing nude pics - Youth Facilitator Caitlin speaks to RNZ

Those Who Wish Me Dead

Rated R16 violence, cruelty, offensive language and content may disturb

During secondary school term 2 we revisited Kirikiriroa and Tauranga, and visited Rotorua for the first time, for our Censor for a Day programme. We loved hosting over 240 secondary students at our three sessions across the Bay of Plenty and Waikato. 

Each day kicked off with rangatahi learning about the role of the Classification Office and what it means for censorship in Aotearoa. Then they watched new film Those Who Wish Me Dead and put their new skills to test with a rating exercise. 

The film follows Hannah (Angelina Jolie) a traumatised firefighter, who must help Connor, a 14-year-old boy on the run from hired assassins. The film depicts violence and cruelty, and contains extensive offensive language.

Students agreed that the violence was the strongest aspect of the film. Many identified the gun violence as being most impactful, especially when it is directed towards a young boy. They felt that the violence was horrific and intense, and was likely to disturb or frighten younger audiences. Some students mentioned that the physical fights and an axe attack could desensitise children and younger teens to violence. The film included a raging forest fire and imagery of a burning man. Students described the fire as “threatening” and agreed that it would be unsettling for some viewers, especially children. Students discussed the ways we could warn audiences about the fire, ranging from highlighting disturbing content through to a specific fire warning.

In a mock classification exercise, the vast majority of students and teachers classified the film either R13 or R16. Our office classified the film R16 with a note for violence, cruelty, offensive language and content may disturb. Here is an excerpt from the written decision:

"The assassins and the forest fire create a strong sense of threat throughout the film. Cruel and bloody violence is somewhat intense at times, and in combination with aggressive offensive language is likely to shock and disturb children and younger teenagers.”

We enjoy engaging with rangatahi and empowering them to think critically about the media they consume. 

Pictured: Angelina Jolie in Those Who Wish Me Dead 

Good wins in the fight against CSAM

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection are making a significant impact in the battle against Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) being available on the internet.
A two-year investigation by Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc. (C3P) found that French telecom giant Free and its file-hosting service were linked to more than a million images of child sexual abuse material. Following the release of the report, Forbes published Billionaire Xavier Niel’s Telecom Giant, Free, Hosted 48% Of Child Sex Abuse Imagery Found During Two-Year Investigation, Says Nonprofit Group.

In the past week there has been significant change: Free's file-hosting service no longer allow anonymous users to upload content — only Free account holders can use the service now. C3P believe this has effectively eliminated this service as a means of online CSAM distribution. 

“All 6,500 archives files, containing more than 2 million images and over 35,000 videos, that were still live prior to the release of the report have been deleted from their file-hosting service. After Free made these changes, there was an immediate reaction in the dark web with a thread titled ‘they finally figured it out’.” — Signy Arnason, Associate Executive Director at C3P.

This is a huge win for victims and survivors. Thank you C3P for continuing and amplifying the good fight. 

Select Committee visit

In May Chief Censor David Shanks appeared before a Select Committee to present our submission on the proposed Films, Videos, and Publications Classification (Urgent Interim Classification of Publications and Prevention of Online Harm) Amendment Bill. Following on from the presentation the Office hosted members of the Governance and Administration Committee at our office to help them better understand the work that we do. Their visit was an opportunity for them to learn about the process and challenges of classifying films, games, and crown material, and our research into reducing harm. The two-hour visit consisted of meeting staff, presentations and lots of questions.  

Read our submission to the Bill on our website.

Pictured: Chief Censor David Shanks, Naisi Chen, Melissa Lee, and Tangi Utikere

ON THE BLOG

What I learnt at Censor for a Day

Our newest staff member Oli (not pictured) attended his first Censor for a Day session this term. Over on the blog Oli gives us a unique perspective on this Classification Office activity. 

"When I was young, cellphones were big bricks with a single-digit panel. Thomas the Tank Engine lived inside the TV cabinet on a VHS. The internet had barely arrived, and the only way to communicate to whānau overseas was to make a very expensive phone call. Now, although just in my late 20’s, I realise my upbringing was hugely different to what rangatahi are living today. We know times have changed, young people have access to information like never before. As a new staff member at the Classification Office, I was interested in seeing how we engage and work with rangatahi." Continue reading over on the blog.

Pictured: Zack from Western Heights High School

The book you wish you had as a teen: Let's Talk About It by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan

The Classification Office is interested in resources that foster healthy discussions about porn and potentially risky digital behaviour, such as sexting or ‘sending nudes’. Our research has shown that rangatahi are using porn to learn about sex. But they don’t have to. Let’s Talk About It is a ‘teen’s guide to sex, relationships and being a human being’ in comic book form. Continue reading Tara's article over on the blog. 

UPDATED RESOURCE AVAILABLE

Our Growing up with Porn: Insights from young New Zealanders report has been updated with practical resources for whānau. If you or your organisation are interested in receiving physical copies please contact us at media@classificationoffice.govt.nz.

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 month.

The story of March 15 needs to be told on the big screen. But not like this. [The Spinoff]

Girls asked for nudes by up to 11 boys a night [BBC]

Instagram chief explains how the service decides what you see [The Verge]

The battle over the Coronavirus lab-leak theory [The New Yorker]

Pride is a Riot. Writer and festival programmer Shayna Maci Warner says no to corporate slogans and yes to twenty films that celebrate queer joy, crime and chaos. [Letterboxd]