InternetNZ administers locally registered websites and the non-profit has lobbied on issues such as copyright and closing the digital divide. Photo / Getty Images
InternetNZ administers locally registered websites and the non-profit has lobbied on issues such as copyright and closing the digital divide. Photo / Getty Images
The Free Speech Union has only been partially successful in its bid to take over InternetNZ, gaining a seat on the board but suffering a series of knockbacks at the non-profit’s annual general meeting.
Earlier this year, the Free Speech Union (FSU) encouraged its members to join InternetNZ, the non-profitthat administers the 750,000 or so websites with a .nz domain.
FSU chief executive Jonathan Ayling saw a constitutional review opening the door to co-governance and setting up InternetNZ as a “judge and jury” in free speech controversies (Tech Insider found the draft constitution heavy on what Ayling might call “woke” language but light on specifics about diversity, veering InternetNZ towards maintaining its primary focus on its technical role).
A surge of people duly joined InternetNZ (annual dues: $21). As of February 1, the incorporated society had 383 members, a number its chairman Stephen Judd said had been stable for years.
By the time of its board election and annual meeting last week there were 4462 eligible voting members.
Things hung in the balance, with it not being clear how many of the newcomers had answered Ayling’s call and how many were aiming to counter the FSU incursion.
Auditor Grant Thornton says 62.4% of eligible members cast votes – up from 43% last year.
FSU wins one of two open seats, none of 12 motions
Two of eight board positions were up for grabs, with 13 candidates in contention.
The other was picked up by Dylan Reeve (1372 votes), whose varied career includes being the creative partner to journalist David Farrier, who will never make the FSU’s Christmas card list.
Reeve, 45, who has researched and published articles on online fraud, abuse and conspiracy theories, has often questioned why companies like Facebook don’t do more to enforce their rules – and why various authorities don’t do more to clamp down on illegitimate or harmful content.
A second FSU-affiliated candidate, Christchurch lawyer Douglas Brown (a member of the FSU’s council), failed to get elected.
In a twist, Ayling quit as FSU chief executive on Saturday. No reason was given for his departure after four years in the role and he could not be immediately reached for comment.
All candidates stood as individuals, so his FSU resignation does not impact his new InternetNZ role.
The FSU announced over the weekend its chief executive Jonathan Ayling had resigned, with no reason given. The ginger group's deputy chairwoman Jillaine Heather was named temporary CEO.
The board election was followed by InternetNZ’s annual general meeting, which was held online and attracted about 1000 people.
FSU supporters David Farrar and retired District Court judge David Harvey put 12 motions, each seeking changes to InternetNZ’s constitution. None were carried.
InternetNZ board elections are only held once a year, meaning any FSU takeover was always going to be a long-term project.
Critic turned insider
Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see how Reeve goes as an insider.
Notwithstanding the FSU’s rhetoric, InternetNZ has traditionally advocated for a “free and open” internet and defaulted to a hands-off approach.
The aftermath of the Christchurch mosque massacres, when it took “emergency measures” to make certain sites effectively inaccessible to New Zealanders, was an outlier.
Stephen Judd is chairman of InternetNZ, which had income of $15.1 million last year, mostly through wholesaling .nz addresses. The funds go to technical admin to keep our internet running smoothly, plus education and community grants.
Former domain name system (DNS) engineer Reeve, who has been notably methodical and even-handed in his various investigations of harmful content, has at times questioned why InternetNZ has taken so long to act against the likes of malicious .nz sites registered with fake details, including, “parking fee” site recently imitating Auckland Transport and another pretending to be footwear maker Vans.
InternetNZ’s Domain Name Commission says it acts to review a site’s registration if it receives a complaint.
Reeve told the Herald the AGM included some ideas for more proactive measures against sites run by bad actors.
But that was outside his motivation for seeking an InternetNZ seat.
“I stood for the board because I felt that a well-resourced reactionary group was trying to take control and it wasn’t something I was comfortable with,” he said.
“I’m curious to see how things will progress now that most of their efforts to exercise their power have fallen through.”
Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.
