The HDCA's War on Women Who Won't Be Silenced

Rex Landy goes to trial tomorrow.  

Now, whatever you think of Rex's opinions (salty, offensive, funny or beyond the pale), her case is a live demonstration of the process being the punishment. 

Rex Landy's brother died on 1 September 2024. Two and a half weeks later, police served her with a Harmful Digital Communications Act order. A man who identifies as female, Caitlin Spice, had complained about her social media posts. 

The Punishment Starts Before Conviction 

Grief-stricken and exhausted, Rex did not oppose the order - she removed articles from her Substack. She deleted her entire Gettr profile – three years of work, 2,500 followers, gone. Rex claims that in her haste and grief she missed three articles. 

On 18 December 2024, police raided her home and arrested her. They seized all her electronic devices. Without her laptop, she couldn't even log into Substack to correct the oversight. When she finally borrowed a device and removed the posts, it was too late. 

Then, on 29 January 2025, police showed up with two more charges, claiming Rex referred to Caitlin Spice in a YouTube livestream and a tweet. Rex denies these allegations. 

In October, police tried to arrest her again over a Reduxx article about her case. After a voluntary interview, they declined to add charges. But the message was clear: we're watching you. 

Rex has been to court four or five times. She faces three months in jail or a $50,000 fine. Rex pleaded not guilty, insisting that the missed articles were an honest mistake made in grief. The process grinds on. 

You Don't Have to Agree With Her 

Some of you might find Rex's commentary offensive. You might think she should be more polite, refer to people by their chosen pronouns and never ‘deadname’.  

That's beside the point. 

Free speech isn't about protecting polite conversation. It's about protecting the right to be offensive, confrontational, and satirical about matters of public concern. Once we accept that offensive speech can be criminalised, we've handed the state a weapon it will turn on all of us. 

You don't have to agree with Rex Landy. You don't have to like her. But if you believe in free speech at all, you must defend her right to say what she thinks, even if she says it in ways that offend you. 

If we only defend speech we agree with, we're not defending free speech at all. 

The Pattern Is Clear 

The HDCA has been weaponised repeatedly. Portia Mao, the journalist who exposed Chinese Communist Party interference, was gagged by a CCP proxy. Campbell Barry, Lower Hutt Mayor, silenced ratepayers criticising his conduct. The woman who brought allegations against disgraced Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming was charged by police under the HDCA – even after he pleaded guilty to possessing child sexual abuse material, police are still prosecuting her on related charges. 

Women speaking about sex-based rights bear the brunt. Rex is a member of Mana Wāhine Kōrero, which defends Māori culture and womanhood against gender ideology. They state what should be uncontroversial: only women give birth, only women can perform the karanga, only women are te whare tangata – the house of the ancestors. 

Say this publicly about men who claim to be women, and you risk criminal prosecution. 

The HDCA: Built to Fail 

The HDCA was sold as a tool to prevent cyberbullying of young and vulnerable people. However, most applications involve relationship breakdowns between adults with the bar for "serious emotional distress" being set absurdly low. What concerns us most are cases that diverge from Parliament's original intent: state actors, business owners, and those silencing journalists and legitimate criticism. 

Meanwhile, freedom of expression is given virtually no weight by courts. Truth is not a defence. Public interest is not a defence. The test is whether someone claims emotional distress, and courts accept those claims at face value.  

Even if Rex is acquitted, she's already been punished. The raids. The seizure of property. The legal costs. The stress of potential imprisonment. The chilling effect on every other woman watching. 

This is how authoritarianism works. You don't need convictions when the process itself destroys people. 

What Happens Tomorrow 

Rex may go to jail for writing satirical, salty, offensive commentary about a man on social media. If that doesn't make your blood boil, we're more lost than I thought. 

The Free Speech Union has called for the HDCA to be repealed or fundamentally reformed. We're meeting (again) with the Minister of Justice, and our legal team is preparing a 10-year review of HDCA decisions, and the picture is damning. 

Rex won't be silenced. But how many other women will see what happened to Rex and decide it's not worth the risk? That's the real damage – the culture of fear that grows around individual prosecutions. 

If we don't defend the Rex Landys of this world, there won't be anyone left to defend us when our turn comes. 

We’re watching the trial tomorrow closely and will report back on how we can support Rex and fight back.   

In the meantime, share her story. And if you agree that the HDCA needs to be reformed, chip in to the Free Speech Union to support our work – because this is why we exist. 

Jillaine Heather | Chief Executive