Pacific people among most concerned about explicit content online

Pacific people are spending more time online than other ethnic groups in Aotearoa, but they also have starker concerns about the risks they face online.

Vivien Maidaborn Chief Executive of InternetNZ, told Pacific Mornings that their 2025 Internet Insights survey highlighted a number of issues that Pacific communities were grappling with relating to online content.

“Pacific people's 87 per cent are worried about young children can access inappropriate content," she says. "Then 83 per cent the security of personal data and 74 per cent misinformation."

Maidaborn says concerns about identity theft, privacy breaches and misinformation are not far behind, pointing to the growing spread of misinformation reaching everyone online, not just children.

She says 87 per cent of Pacific people are concerned about young children’s access to harmful online content, compared with 72 per cent of New Zealand Europeans, describing the gap as "a marked difference.”

The research results released earlier this week are from a commissioned report that InternetNZ conducts annually.

Watch Vivien Maidaborn's full interview below.

The survey revealed that Pacific people topped the charts as highest users of the internet daily with an average of four hours of personal use.

Despite the high usage, Maidaborn says Pacific people identified they were more likely to perceive the internet as having a negative impact culturally.

“Pacific people perceive the internet to have a negative impact on cultural beliefs and values, 35 per cent say that,” she says.

Identity theft, privacy breaches, and misinformation are among the concerns raised in the survey. Photo/Unsplash

“And 77 per cent are concerned about security of personal details. Māori, disabled people and then Māori and Pacific people are the people most likely to be concerned about and experiencing bullying or harassment online.”

Other findings include Kiwis across the board learning more about AI and applying it in their daily lives.

What is lesser known however is people knowledge of AI when it’s already embedded in something they were already using.

Vivien Maidaborn says Pacific people identified negative cultural impacts. Photo/Unsplash

“They don't understand how their data is being scraped and used and sold. And I think in the next five years, all of those pillars of the community that you mentioned, whether it be parents or schools or churches, will want to understand that so they can provide guidance.

“Our government is not taking any leadership in this space. It has a very risk management approach to AI development compared to the EU, Australia or Canada. We're way behind in government policy and regulation.”

Maidaborn encourages the leaders in the communities to be part of the shift in educating those within their networks.

“I just think we've got to get savvy about how to guide people in our families, both elders and young kids, and with how to navigate such a reality.”