Google breached suppression laws by sending out emails headlined with the name of man charged with backpacker murder

Google has been forced to explain to the New Zealand government why it breached the country’s strict suppression laws by naming the man charged with murdering British backpacker Grace Millane.

The company said it had occurred by mistake, but stopped short of apologising for the blunder. Senior policy manager Ross Young told media Google had acted when it had been made aware of the court order, four days after it was issued.

“We understand what the concerns are in this very sensitive matter. Google has acted on this situation. We have had a constructive discussion today [with justice minister Andrew Little] ... explaining our processes and looking how we can address similar situations in the future,” he said.

However, justice minister Andrew Little – who met Google’s NZ boss Caroline Rainsford and Young in Wellington on Tuesday afternoon – said he had made it clear suppressions orders applied whether publishers had seen them or not.

“They pointed out the difficulty they have. I said ‘I’m simply not sympathetic to that’. I’ve got to make sure orders handed down are respected the minute they’re handed down,” he said.

“It’s up to [Google] to work out how to do that. If they don’t I could look to our domestic laws to see whether they’re effective, but if not I’ll have to work with other countries.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest New Zealand Justice Minister Andrew Little and Google NZ senior manager of public policy and government affairs Ross Young speak to reporters in Wellington after their meeting. Photograph: Boris Jancic/AAP

Google was the subject of intense criticism last week after sending out the name of the accused 26-year-old man in the subject line of an email to people subscribed to their email list of search terms trending in New Zealand, despite the country’s courts ordering he could not be publicly identified.

The email also said there had been 100,000 searches of the man’s name around the country.

Having earlier rebuked some parts of the British media for naming the accused in online reports that were viewable within New Zealand’s jurisdiction, Little turned to the internet company, saying he would meet its executives to explain the risks to fair trial rights it was posing, calling it “unacceptable”.

After the meeting, Little told reporters the company had agreed to look at its systems to avoid a re-occurrence.

“Publishing across borders might be the reality of the world today, but no justice system should be held to ransom and told that your orders to ensure a fair trial are no longer relevant. That is simply not acceptable anywhere,” he said.

Millane was found dead on the outskirts of Auckland earlier this month after going missing in the city on 1 December, the day before her 22nd birthday.

The man she was last seen with has been charged with her murder and was granted a temporary name suppression when he appeared in court for the first time on 10 December.

Little earlier said naming the accused overseas risked breaching his right to a fair trial and risked compromising the case against him, which could mean Millane’s family did not see justice.

Such restrictions are not uncommon in the early stages of legal cases in New Zealand.