Māori experience more online harm than other New Zealanders, and it is getting more serious. In Netsafe’s 2025 survey, 48% of Māori received unwanted digital communications in the past year, against 38% of all New Zealanders.
Of those Māori, 52% said it harmed their daily life, up from 39% in 2023.
The survey covered 543 Māori aged 16 and over, interviewed online between 6 and 30 June 2025 by Verian (formerly Kantar Public), and weighted to the 2023 Census.
| Measure | Māori 2025 | Māori 2023 | All NZ 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Received unwanted digital communications, past year | 48% | 46% | 38% |
| Same, aged under 30 | 59% | — | 51% |
| Negative impact on daily life, among those who received them | 52% | 39% | 37% |
| Negative impact on daily life, as a share of everyone | about 25% | about 18% | 14% |
| Received an unwanted sexual advance | 24% | 17% | — |
| Physically threatened or intimidated | 15% | 10% | — |
| Intimate images shared without permission | 8% | 4% | — |
| Encouraged to self-harm or suicide | 8% | 4% | — |
| Harm was also happening offline, among recipients | 30% | 23% | — |
| Contacted a support service, among recipients | 35% | 23% | 28% |
| Found that support helpful, among those who used it | 55% | 43% | about half |
| Admit sending or sharing unwanted communications | 19% | 9% | 10% |
| Likely to report harmful content | 81% | 74% | about three-quarters |
The “share of everyone” row is calculated here (52% × 48%; 39% × 46%) so Māori can be compared like for like with the national 14%.
- Netsafe reports more Māori receiving sexual advances, obscene content, intimate images and encouragement to self-harm than in 2023. Rates of intimate image sharing and self-harm encouragement doubled. Sharing intimate images is the conduct s 22A targets; the other harms can fall under s 22.
- Among Māori aged 18–29, 37% received an unwanted sexual advance and 14% were encouraged to self-harm.
- Self-reported sending of unwanted communications doubled to 19%, against 10% nationally. Most Māori who admit sending them have also been targets: 17% of Māori are both. This self-reported behaviour is much broader than criminal offending and cannot be set against the court figures.
- 70% of Māori know it is illegal to deliberately cause harm online, but only 57% know it can be punished by prison or a fine.
My previous analyses show that racism runs through this harm. Most of those figures come from Netsafe and ActionStation surveys from 2017 to 2019. Netsafe’s 2025 online hate speech report found ethnicity was the most common reason people were targeted (36%) and says Māori are more exposed than the general population, but its release gives no Māori figure.
| Measure | Māori | Comparison | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Believed online hate they received was about race or ethnicity | 90% | Pākehā 22% (19% in the article text) | Netsafe 2018 |
| Experienced racial abuse or harassment online | 33% | Pacific 21%, Asian 25% | ActionStation 2019 |
| Stopped posting their views after racist abuse | 14% | — | ActionStation 2019 |
| Teens threatened online | 16% | Pākehā 11%, Pacific 8% | Netsafe 2018 |
| Teens who received unsolicited nude images | 24% | Pākehā 18%, Pacific 18% | Netsafe 2017 |
| Seen at least one type of extreme or illegal content | 79% | — | Classification Office 2026 |
Conclusion
Māori face more online harm than other New Zealanders, and the harm is getting more serious. Netsafe’s 2025 survey of 543 Māori found that 48% received unwanted digital communications in the past year, against 38% of all New Zealanders. For Māori under 30 the figure was 59%. Of those Māori affected, 52% said it harmed their daily life, up from 39% in 2023. That works out to about one in four Māori overall, against 14% of New Zealanders.
Since 2023, intimate image sharing without consent and encouragement to self-harm have each doubled to 8%, and unwanted sexual advances rose to 24%. Rangatahi carry the heaviest load: 37% of Māori aged 18–29 received an unwanted sexual advance, and 14% were encouraged to self-harm.
Racism runs through this harm. In earlier surveys, 90% of Māori who received online hate believed it was about their race, and a third had experienced racist abuse online. More Māori are now seeking help (35%, up from 23%), but only 57% know harmful digital communication can be punished by prison or a fine.