Auckland Council is urging members of the public to stop abusing councillors on social media.
According to a release, there's been a "concerning rise" in online attacks against local government representatives.
In June, police investigated threatening comments made online against Auckland Councillor Penny Hulse, including a Facebook post that said she should be shot. Female MPs such as Golriz Ghahraman have also been subjected to a torrent of online abuse since taking office.
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Netsafe CEO Martin Cocker says there's "certainly" been an increase in abuse and harassment as public officials have made greater use of social media.
"The more they're online, utilising social media, it's created more of an opportunity for people to abuse them," he told Newshub. "There's a growing acceptance that it comes with the territory, which is unfortunate."
He says Netsafe has seen a significant rise in Government employees in difficult frontline roles - including workers from DoC, ACC and Oranga Tamariki - reporting online abuse. It disproportionately affects people who are female, disabled and from an ethnic minority, as is the case for online abuse in general.
Auckland Council says citizens are welcome to give officials constructive criticism, but not to stoop to nasty or personal insults.
"If we didn't allow criticism we wouldn't have a functioning democracy, but too often on social media people play the person, and not the ball," says Local Government NZ President Dave Cull.
"We need to stick to the issues. We need more candidates, and we need to respect those people who put their hand up for their communities."
The line between criticism and abuse is drawn by the Harmful Digital Communications Act (HDCA). An online communication - whether an email, private message or public post - has to meet a fairly high threshold to be considered harmful, such as someone withdrawing from an event or opportunity because of said communication.
Auckland Council's general manager Democracy Services Marguerite Delbet says increased online vitriol may deter some people from standing in this year's local elections. Tauranga City Councillor Leanne Brown announced this week that she won't stand for re-election because of the abuse she receives on social media.
Cocker says even if some people decide not to run solely becuse of online abuse, it still might not meet the standards of the HDCA, which is designed to protect freedom of speech.
Nevertheless, he encourages officials feeling targeted to make full use of New Zealand's existing legal framework around online abuse and file a report with Netsafe if they suspect a digital communication may be in breach of the HDCA.
"People in these positions think that because they've chosen to step into the public light, they have to accept it. And they do have to accept scrutiny, but they shouldn't be subjected to any more abuse than any other member of society."
Shaun Robinson, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, says we could all do with a reminder that it's possible to debate and disagree with people without resorting to bullying.
"There should never be any expectation that bullying comes with any job or anyone should have to toughen up."
Newshub.
