“An embarrassing step backwards and a severe blow to free speech” is what the New Zealand Humanist Society today called our newest de facto blasphemy law, which received Royal assent on 2 July.
The Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 has come under international scrutiny from human rights organisations for allowing individuals to bring proceedings if they allege that a digital communication has denigrated their religion, causing them to “suffer serious emotional distress”. And the punishments are some of the most severe in the world – if charged, individuals could face up to two years imprisonment or a fine of up to $50,000.
Read more at Yahoo! News, New Zealand