The Privacy Commission says online identity impersonation is a growing problem on social media websites.
The Commission is supporting a review of the Privacy Act by the Law Commission which is considering the challenges posed to privacy by new technology.
Assistant Privacy Commissioner Katrine Evans says online identity impersonation traditionally involves celebrities, but it is now being used by children for reasons such as cyber bullying.
Ms Evans says fraud or serious harassment through online identity impersonation is dealt with by existing legislation.
She says the Privacy Commission does not know whether online identity impersonation will become an offence, but any law would have to distinguish between malicious impersonation and genuine parody.
Katrine Evans says social media websites like Facebook remove impersonated identities from its webpages if requested.
She says the Privacy Commission wants to hear from anyone whose identity has been impersonated online.
