Goldsmith ‘not that hopeful’ for suppression-breaching social media solution

Friday, 26 September 2025

Phillips was shot dead by police on Monday after opening fire on officers near Te Kūiti. He had been on the run since 2021, when he disappeared with his children from their Marokopa home.

The injunction of information in the Tom Phillips case is not being enforced for offshore-based tech companies operating in New Zealand. The Justice Minister’s looking into it, but isn’t optimistic there’ll be a solution.

Lawyers probing the Justice Minister for a solution to suppressed information seemingly appearing on global tech giants haven’t exactly been filled with optimism with his response.

Paul Goldsmith spoke at a Law Association function this week and was asked about platforms like Google, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, X, and Reddit seemingly flouting strict court orders suppressing certain elements of the Tom Phillips case.

Goldsmith instructed his officials on September 16 to look into ways of enforcing the orders, which are being adhered to by New Zealand-based publications but not overseas ones.

“They’ll be coming back with some ideas but, frankly, I’m not that hopeful that we’re going to be able to solve the issues perfectly,” Goldsmith told legal publication LawNews.

While suppression orders or injunctions can’t be enforced outside of New Zealand, there’s a grey area when it comes to whether offshore-based companies that operate here, advertise here, and even employ people here are subject to the orders.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith isn’t holding out hope he can reign in suppression-breaching global media companies

“I think everybody can sense the frustration about it,” Goldsmith told LawNews. “There may be improvements that can be made at the edges, but it’s the sheer volume of material.

“It’s sort of a game of Whack-a-Mole that ultimately makes it quite challenging,” he says.

The suppressions are part of an injunction granted by the High Court and it’s set to be re-evaluated on October 17.

Edrick Child, who’s chief legal counsel at the Ministry of Justice, confirmed to Stuff that enforcing the orders on companies outside New Zealand’s jurisdiction isn’t currently possible.

“The flagging of suppression orders to global media platforms is not within the Ministry’s current scope of work.

“In civil proceedings, the relevant party to the litigation is responsible for initiating any legal steps in response to alleged breaches of court orders,” Child says.

Goldsmith’s office declined an interview with Stuff.