Thank you for your response dated March 23, 2026 (Ref: OIA 2526-0812), and for the release of the internal email dated December 12, 2025, from John Michael to Nick Law (Document 1).

This document confirms that the DIA Digital Safety Team was directly advised by the Australian Attorney-General’s office that the privacy implications of an under-16 social media ban are "significant and should be factored into any planning that NZ does for a similar ban."

Pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982, I am submitting a follow-up request to understand exactly how the Department acted upon this explicit warning from our international partners.

Please provide the following information and documents:

1. The "Five Country Working Group"
The released email references a "five country working group" that Nick Law and a redacted individual sit on.

Please provide the formal name of this working group, its Terms of Reference (or equivalent founding document/mandate), and a list of the specific countries involved (if different from the standard 'Five Eyes' partnership).

Furthermore, I request information detailing the extent to which this specific working group has been involved in discussions, intelligence sharing, or policy development regarding minimum age restrictions for social media. Please provide any meeting agendas, minutes, briefing notes, or shared policy documents circulated within or generated by this group since October 1, 2023, that specifically address age verification mandates, device-level vs. provider-level implementation, or youth social media bans.

2. Follow-up Correspondence and Actions

Please provide copies of any direct replies, forwarded threads, or subsequent correspondence stemming from the December 12, 2025 email sent by John Michael (Subject: "Under 16").

Please provide any further correspondence or meeting minutes between the DIA Digital Safety Team and the Australian Attorney-General’s office or the Australian eSafety Commissioner occurring after December 12, 2025, regarding age verification or the social media ban.

3. Privacy Planning and Implementation
The Australian counterpart advised that privacy "should be factored into any planning that NZ does."

Please provide copies of any subsequent internal memos, briefings, risk registers, or aides-mémoire produced by the DIA Digital Safety Team or Regulation and Identity Services that discuss how to factor these privacy risks into New Zealand's approach to age verification.

Please provide any draft or finalized Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) regarding the proposed social media age restrictions or related age-assurance technologies initiated since October 1, 2024.

If you intend to refuse any part of this request under section 9 of the OIA, please ensure you clearly state the specific sub-section relied upon and explain why the public interest in the safe handling of New Zealanders' data does not outweigh the need to withhold the information.

I look forward to your response within the statutory 20 working days.

Sincerely,
Joshua Riley