New Zealand: Deepfake Digital Harm and Exploitation Bill was introduced to New Zealand Parliament

On 12 May 2025, the Deepfake Digital Harm and Exploitation Bill was introduced in New Zealand Parliament. The Bill aims to amend the Crimes Act 1961 and the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 by including digitally altered or synthesised images within the definition of an intimate visual recording. This Bill intends to address the proliferation of sexually explicit deepfakes and extend legal protections to individuals whose likeness is used without consent. The Bill specifies that intimate visual recordings encompass visual content that has been created, synthesised, or altered to depict a person in states of undress or engaging in intimate activities, thereby ensuring that such materials are subject to the legal provisions and offences outlined in the amended Acts.