Gaming the Law: Adolescents and the Harmful Digital Communication Act—Employing an Educational Approach

Authors

Nachshon Goltz, Osgoode Hall Law School - York Uni.Follow
Giulia Dondoli, University of Waikato, New ZealandFollow

Abstract

In 2015, the Parliament of New Zealand enacted the Harmful Digital Communication Act (HDCA) with the aim of eliminating harm caused by digital communications. After a year of HDCA’s partial enforcement, a relatively large number of cases under Section 22, which concerns harm caused by posting digital communication, have been filed. Under this section, anyone over the age of fourteen can potentially face sanctions, and the first person to be convicted under the Act was an eighteen-year-old. This article highlights the legal rights and obligations that adolescents need be aware of. It also presents an online game, “Privacy Games” at www.privacygame.com, which uses intuitive and image-based online scenarios to teach adolescents about online privacy and safety.

Recommended Citation

Nachshon Goltz & Giulia Dondoli, Gaming the Law: Adolescents and the Harmful Digital Communication Act—Employing an Educational Approach, 21 SMU Sci. & Tech. L. Rev. 3 (2018)