Source: New Zealand Privacy Commissioner – Blog
It’s human nature to chat about other people but when those people are children I’d say we need to do better as a nation. The recent events in Marakopa, the actions of Tom Phillips, and the lives of his three children have generated a strong emotional response within our motu, and across the world. It’s understandable that people want to know the circumstances, how such events were able to happen, and whether the people involved are okay.
Social media is an easy place to share those opinions, which people – mainly adults – are doing without pause. It can feel like harmless entertainment to comment under news stories, speculate on X, or argue with strangers on Facebook about things like what good parenting is. But I want New Zealanders to pause and consider the wider picture. There are children at the heart of these events, and it is ultimately the children who will be affected.
The Children’s Commissioner, Claire Achmad, recently called on media companies to protect and respect the privacy of the three children in the Marakopa case. Acknowledging the public interest, Dr Achmad said, “The children need privacy and have a right to this”. It’s great that some media outlets have heeded the Commissioner’s call. Now I’m asking New Zealanders to do that too.
These children didn’t ask to be front and centre in news stories. They didn’t ask to have their names and personal information known by the nation. And they deserve better, which means respecting their privacy because regardless of your age in New Zealand you have privacy rights.
As a country we have a collective responsibility to help protect and respect the privacy of children. Words spoken, thoughts and stories shared, and pictures posted can live forever in New Zealand. In the online environment, those words, thoughts, stories and pictures travel widely and quickly, in many cases unchecked. The internet doesn’t care if the words are true or whether the opinions you’ve shared are well-researched and legit, or whether the pictures you’re posting have no context. Online everything has equal footing. However, we’re talking about children’s lives, and this sharing of information and ideas could continue to haunt them for years to come.
Unlike other countries, we don’t have a “right to be forgotten” in New Zealand privacy law, which is the right to have personal information removed or deleted, for example from internet search engine results.
Add to this that a child or young person’s information, including information about their family and whānau, is an intrinsic part of who they are – it represents their past, their present and their future. When we fail to protect and respect a child’s information and their right to privacy, the impacts can be significant and the harm it creates can be long lasting.
To every New Zealander, and every organisation that holds information about these children, I ask you to pause and think. Think about your words, your thoughts, your stories or the pictures you may want to share, post or repost online. Think about how they may impact those involved – both now and in the future – and do better by them.
We need to ensure we do everything to protect our children’s privacy and their futures. While your need for understanding may be strong, especially when events have occurred like those in Marakopa, the protection of children and their privacy must come first.
This originally ran in The Post as an opinion piece by Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster on 20 September 2025.
