Take screenshots of any messages you receive. These can be used to support you to report the blackmail or threats and to use as evidence if needed.
Threatening someone or trying to blackmail them can be an offence under the Harmful Digital Communications Act.
This means it could be against the law.
Especially if it is causing you ‘serious emotional distress’ or harm.
You can contact Netsafe to get support. They have a trained team who are available by phone or by submitting an online form (or email) that can take steps to deal with the situation in a range of ways.
They can let you know whether what is happening to you breaks the law and support you to contact the police.
They can also provide information about other things you can do if it is not against the law.
Take screenshots of the messages and use these (or even links to the messages) to report what is happening directly to Social Media Platforms.
To find out how to do this, click on the links below.
It is completely normal to feel worried, embarrassed, anxious or scared about talking to your friends or family about what is going on.
Sometimes you might think that it will be easier to keep things to yourself (especially if the person is threatening to hurt people close to you or share personal or embarrassing information with them).
Choosing someone that you trust to confide in means that you can have someone who can be there for you. They can see things objectively and think about things you can do.
Try not to beat yourself up or feel like you have ‘brought this on yourself’. We all make mistakes but this does not give someone else the right to manipulate, threaten or blackmail you.
It is really unusual for the person to stop after you have done what they have asked.
Usually, doing this shows them that they have power over you and they will often continue to blackmail or threaten you to get more and push for whatever they can out of you.
A lot of the time they will still go through with their threat, even if you do as they ask.
In New Zealand, there is now a law to help tackle the most serious instances of bullying and harassment by people using digital technology.
This is the Harmful Digital Communications Act (HDCA).
It is illegal to send messages and post material online that deliberately causes a victim ‘serious emotional distress’ and blackmail or threats could fit this criteria.
It means that as well as reporting it to different Social Media Platforms, you have additional support available to you to get support and to stop threats from being carried out.
This can be through Netsafe, the District Court or the Police and can involve either criminal or civil remedies.
Criminal Remedies
Criminal remedies could include a fine of up to $50,000 (for an individual) or up to two years in jail.
There are also criminal OR civil remedies under the The Harmful Digital Communications Act (HDCA) if someone causes ‘serious emotional distress’ online.
The criminal remedies do not apply to children (aged 0-13), but can be applied to young people aged 14-16 (within the youth justice system) and individuals aged 17+ (who are treated as adults within the formal criminal justice system).
This also means that the police may be involved and that there is a clear process that is followed after you report what is happening. In some cases this will involve a court case.
It is important to remember that for the police to charge somebody with breaking a law, they have to have enough evidence to clearly prove who it was and exactly what happened.
The police also have to weigh up whether what is happening to you, meets all of the requirements of the law.
Sometimes, even though it is not ok and making you really upset, this is not enough to charge someone.
Civil Remedies
Netsafe can support you with some civil remedies including working with both parties to reach a resolution, working with online content hosts (like Social Media platforms) but they cannot punish anyone or force them to do something.
Civil remedies could also involve a court order where a person can be forced to remove or delete content, give an apology or the identity of someone who posted anonymously revealed.
The main one that is being used for someone targetting you online is the Harmful Digital Communications Act.
Other options or remedies in relation to Blackmail and/or threats are available under:
If you are being abused, intimidated or harassed online, Netsafe can offer advice for lots of different situations.
These include when someone has put something online that:
You do not have to wait for it to happen again or escalate before you reach out for help.
They have a trained team that can assess your situation and support you with working our your options.
Netsafe have years of experience in helping young people deal with harm online, their service is free and confidential.
The Act is a piece of New Zealand law created to prevent and reduce the harm caused by online bullying, harassment, revenge porn and other forms of online abuse and intimidation.
To do this, the Act has introduced
There are also communications principles to clearly outline your rights and responsibilities.
Communications Principles
A digital communication should not:
Netsafe will investigate when a complaint or report is made about someone breaching one or more of the Communications Principles and work with the people involved to find a resolution.
On their site, Netsafe outline how they can help. They explain:
‘We’ll tell you what you can do to keep safe, and if there’s anything that can be done to stop the abuse. We may try to work with the person who is harassing you to get them to stop – but we won’t contact them unless you say it’s OK.
We might also be able to contact the person or the organisation that runs the website, app or service that the messages or posts are on and ask for their help to resolve the issue.
Netsafe is an organisation that can provide information and support as well as free and confidential advice when you are worried or hurt online.
They can:
You can make a report through their website https://www.netsafe.org.nz/report/ or you can free phone them seven days a week on 0508 NETSAFE. They’re open between 8am and 8pm on weekdays, and between 9am and 5pm on weekends and public holidays.
You can make the report yourself, or someone can do it on your behalf.
When you phone them, they will ask you questions so they can understand what’s going on- like how long it has been happening, who is involved and any other information to help them to evaluate your report.If you have evidence like screenshots or links to content and messages, it’s helpful to be able to send these through.
When you make a report online, you will be asked to select from a range of multi choice questions to give information about the situation and the support you (or the person you are making the report for) is receiving, give your contact information and also a ‘short summary’ of what happened.
You will also be asked how concerned you are for your safety.
Whether you make your report by phone or using the online form, you will be given a report number that will create a ‘thread’ of emails to keep all of the communication together.If you make your report online, you will then receive an email confirming your report has been received and that one of the team will be in touch once they have evaluated it using the contact details you gave in the form.
One of the Netsafe team will get in touch with you after they have evaluated your report. They will let you know what your options are and what steps they can take on your behalf.
They will let you know if what you are reporting is a criminal offence and needs to be reported to your local Police.
They will keep you updated on the progress of the steps they take on your behalf.
You can also get in touch using the email thread or the helpline if anything else happens or if you have more information to share.
If Netsafe is unable to help you to resolve the situation, you have the option to take the matter to the aDistrict Court, but you need to try and resolve things with Netsafe first.
The Court is able to order the removal of content and a published apology.
If your situation is very serious, it may fall under the criminal part of the Act. Criminal cases are dealt with by the Police, and Netsafe can let you know if you should be making a report to the Police.
The Police can apply to the court (without going through NetSafe) in specific cases.
If you can’t resolve the situation with Netsafe and you do apply to the District Court, they have a broad range of options available to them, including:
Under this process, the court will order people to do certain things – they won’t receive fines or time in jail.
If the case is a criminal case (handled by the Police), the court will be able to issue fines and jail sentences.
Helplines are there to help if you want to talk (kōrero) with someone about what is going on and how it is making you feel. You can openly and honestly share your feelings without worrying about being judged.
It’s normal to worry about asking for help – but at Youthline we are here to listen and help you figure out what is right for you.
0800 376 633 24/7 support
free text 234 between 8am and midnight
or email talk@youthline.co.nz
Online Chat
Youthline’s online chat service is open between 7pm-11pm
A safe place for you to talk about anything at all.
0800 942 8787 (for 5–18 year olds). Phone counselling is available Monday to Friday, midday–11pm and weekends, 3pm–11pm.
Online chat is available 7pm–10pm daily Click HERE
They do say “Because a lot of young people use online chat, there is often a wait time before a counsellor is available. So if you need to speak to someone straight away, phone What’s Up and speak to a counsellor in person”
At Kidsline we think everyone needs to be heard, and we want to be here to talk things through with you, and listen to what’s happening to you. So give us a call, and talk to one of our Buddies!
0800 54 37 54 (0800 kidsline) for young people up to 18 years of age.
Kidsline is available 24/7 however if you ring between 4pm-9pm Monday – Friday you will speak to a Kidsline Buddy – a specially trained teenage telephone counsellor.
To get the lowdown on Helplines and what happens when you call, whether you are really anonymous and and heaps more info, check out the Sticks ‘n Stones website.
Bonnie talks about a rumour spread by a jealous ex that she was in a gang bang and how this was accepted as the truth. The hate and abuse that followed made her feel alone and worthless until she had an opportunity for a fresh start.
Tim talks about being bullied and that he should kill himself to deal with his problems and how he got support to get through.
Eve shares her story about feeling bullied online and a threat made about her and what she did to get through the situation.
Kate talks about when a ‘friend’ pretended to be a boy messaging her and how things got worse from there.
Kate talks about a friendship breaking down and then finding out she was being talked about in FB groups she wasn’t part of.
Sonia talks about a hate page that was set up at her school about someone else and how she stepped in to help.
Jen talks about being bullied online and getting a message ‘out of the blue’ to kill herself.
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