Co-design and governance
Name accountable decision-makers, Māori governance representation, prohibited uses, tikanga process and stop/go authority.
Draft for partnership and co-design
Māori data sovereignty
BannedBand recognises that data about Māori has individual and collective dimensions. Māori data should be subject to Māori governance, and decisions affecting it should be developed with Māori—not merely presented for consent after a system is built.
Status: These are proposed commitments for discussion. They do not claim endorsement by Te Mana Raraunga, any iwi, hapū, Māori organisation or regulator, and do not replace legal, tikanga, cultural or cybersecurity review.
What counts as Māori data?
Information about, from or affecting Māori individuals, whānau, hapū, iwi, Māori organisations or communities—including inferred profiles, location and device events, support interactions, aggregate results, research outputs and system decisions derived from that information.
Proposed commitments
- Authority and partnership. Establish Māori partners and a governance process with real decision rights before collecting Māori pilot data.
- Purpose and minimisation. Collect only what is necessary for an agreed, documented harm-prevention purpose.
- Informed, accessible choice. Explain choices in preferred languages and formats. Consent, where appropriate, must be specific, recorded and capable of withdrawal without manipulative design.
- Collective interests. Assess impacts on whānau, hapū, iwi and Māori communities as well as the individual participant.
- Control and accountability. Document authorised users, access logs, hosting location, subcontractors, retention periods, deletion, incident response and independent oversight.
- No hidden reuse. No sale, advertising, unrelated profiling, model training, research publication or onward disclosure without the agreed governance and a fresh authorisation pathway.
- Participant rights. Provide usable access, correction, export, complaint, withdrawal and deletion processes, subject to clearly explained legal limits.
- Benefit and reciprocity. Define how Māori participants and communities benefit, how findings return to them, and how extractive use is prevented.
Pilot decision gates
Data plan and assurance
Approve a data inventory, impact assessment, security testing, hosting/subprocessor map, retention schedule and breach protocol.
Independent evaluation
Test safety, equity, accessibility, effectiveness and unintended consequences; publish limitations and respond to findings.
Language and accessibility
The website currently provides English, draft te reo Māori, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese interface navigation. Full content translation, terminology and reading level require review with fluent speakers and intended users before pilot use. Samoan, Tongan, Hindi, New Zealand Sign Language and other languages should be prioritised with communities rather than assumed.