InternetNZ
1. Business Name: Internet New Zealand Incorporated, trading as InternetNZ. (Formerly the Internet Society of New Zealand Incorporated until a name change in 2008.)
2. Company Number / NZBN: Incorporated Society registration no. 692906. New Zealand Business Number 9429043201563.
3. Entity Type: Incorporated Society (not-for-profit open membership organisation with charitable status). Registered charity (Charities Services Reg. CC30982) since 2008.
4. Business Classification / Industry: Manages the.nz country-code top-level domain registry and engages in Internet policy advocacy. Classified under “Other information services” (operation of Internet infrastructure and oversight of domain name system).
5. Year Founded: 1995 (incorporated 1 November 1995), originally to assume responsibility for the.nz namespace from its academic stewards. Gained official recognition as the delegated.nz manager by ICANN in 2007.
6. Addresses: Registered Office – Level 13, 18 Willis Street, Wellington 6011, New Zealand. Postal – P.O. Box 11881, Manners Street, Wellington 6142.
7. Websites: Primary website internetnz.nz. (Historical site: internetnz.net.nz). Subsidiary Domain Name Commission at dnc.org.nz.
8. Social Media: Facebook – InternetNZ ; Twitter (X) – @InternetNZ. Regular updates and community engagement via these channels.
9. Ultimate Holding Company: None. InternetNZ is an independent self-governed society with no parent entity (the society itself is the top-level organisation) (Data Not Found). It does, however, control two companies as subsidiaries: Domain Name Commission Ltd and NZRS Ltd.
10. Shareholders: Not applicable. InternetNZ has no shareholders – it is owned by its members (open membership) and governed by an elected council. The society holds 100% ownership of its subsidiary companies (acting as the shareholder on record for DNCL and NZRS).
11. Leadership: Governance by an eleven-member InternetNZ Council (board) elected by members. As of 2025, the President (Chair) is Stephen Judd (preceded by Joy Liddicoat). The Chief Executive (Tumu Whakarae) is Vivien Maidaborn (appointed 2022). Key officers include a Vice President (Vice Chair) and appointed independent Council members to supplement elected members. The Council oversees strategy and policy, while day-to-day operations are led by the CEO and senior management.
12. Staff (especially ex-government): Several current or former InternetNZ leaders have government backgrounds, indicating close ties to public sector networks. Joy Liddicoat (Council President 2020–2023) is a former New Zealand Human Rights Commissioner and Assistant Privacy Commissioner. Councillor Jeff Montgomery served as the NZ Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Department of Internal Affairs) during his InternetNZ tenure. Former CEO Vikram Kumar had been a public servant at the State Services Commission (lead ICT policy agency) prior to joining InternetNZ. These ex-government credentials underscore the revolving-door linkage between InternetNZ and government institutions.
13. Past Employees: Notable alumni include Jordan Carter (Chief Executive 2013–2022), a longtime InternetNZ policy advocate who was also a Labour Party list candidate (2011). Carter’s political ambitions were known but formally kept separate from his InternetNZ work. Earlier, Vikram Kumar (CEO 2010–2013) resigned to head Kim Dotcom’s startup Mega in 2013, reflecting InternetNZ’s connections into the tech industry. Longtime InternetNZ figures like Keith Davidson and Frank March (past presidents) also had government and ICANN roles, contributing to InternetNZ’s institutional memory (Data Sourced).
14. Clients: InternetNZ does not serve clients in a traditional commercial sense. Its customers are.nz domain name registrars and registrants, as it acts as the wholesale provider for all.nz domain registrations. Through its subsidiary NZRS (now merged into InternetNZ operations), it collects fees from registrars for each domain. Indirectly, the New Zealand internet-using public and stakeholders are the “clients” of its policy and advocacy work, as InternetNZ’s mission is to benefit all Internet users. The organisation positions itself as a public-interest steward of the.nz domain and the Internet, rather than a vendor of services in a market.
15. Sectors Represented: InternetNZ represents the Internet and digital sector, including domain industry stakeholders, IT and telecommunications sectors, and end-users (the general public) in New Zealand. By charter it focuses on the Internet community broadly: from technical operators to civil society. It often speaks on behalf of Internet users’ interests in policy debates (e.g. privacy, online safety, digital inclusion) while also voicing the concerns of the local Internet industry (ISPs, tech companies) when relevant. Its activities span multiple sectors: technical infrastructure (domain/DNS management), policy advocacy (digital policy, legislation), and community development (grants, events).
16. Public Engagements: The organisation is highly engaged in public and policy discourse. It regularly makes submissions to Parliament and Government agencies on laws and regulations affecting the Internet – for example, on telecommunications law, censorship and digital safety, privacy, and copyright. InternetNZ representatives have appeared before select committees and multi-stakeholder consultations as expert witnesses or advocates. InternetNZ also convenes public events, most notably the annual NetHui conference (since 2011) which brings together citizens, industry, and officials to discuss Internet issues in an open forum. It holds workshops, public webinars, and community discussions, and staff often speak in media or at events on topics like online harms, digital inclusion and internet governance. InternetNZ’s role as a public voice is central to its charitable purpose of promoting “an open, secure and accessible Internet for NZ”.
17. Affiliations: InternetNZ has numerous formal and informal affiliations. Internationally, it is the designated manager for “.nz” within ICANN and participates in ICANN’s Country-Code Names Supporting Organisation (ccNSO) as New Zealand’s representative. (It is not an official chapter of the global Internet Society, despite historical ties, but joined Internet Society as an organisational member in 2006.) InternetNZ collaborates with global internet governance bodies and attends forums like the UN Internet Governance Forum. Domestically, it partners with government and NGOs on digital initiatives. It was a key promoter of establishing a national Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT NZ), working alongside the NZ Internet Task Force to lobby for its creation. It maintains a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to guide its stewardship of.nz in the public interest. InternetNZ staff also engage in cross-sector groups (e.g., the Christchurch Call Advisory Network on online extremism, where InternetNZ Council members have participated). These affiliations illustrate InternetNZ’s broad network of influence spanning civil society, tech industry, and government circles.
18. Sponsorships: InternetNZ uses its resources to support the wider Internet community. It runs a community grants programme that effectively sponsors research, events, and projects advancing digital inclusion, internet research, and online safety. For example, it allocates funding grants to digital literacy initiatives and local Internet projects (over NZ$800k in some years) ** **. InternetNZ also financially sponsors or partners in events aligned with its mission (such as local tech conferences, Internet research forums, school outreach on Internet issues) (Data Sourced). Conversely, InternetNZ’s own events (e.g. NetHui) attract sponsorship from tech companies and government agencies, although InternetNZ does not appear to receive commercial sponsorship for its core operations (which are funded by domain fees). No records of major corporate donors or sponsors directly funding InternetNZ’s operations were found (Data Not Found).
19. Events: NetHui is InternetNZ’s flagship event – an annual multistakeholder conference (2011–2020, with ongoing regional/local editions) fostering discussions on Internet policy, technology, and society. NetHui is open to the public and has featured ministers, academics, tech leaders and community representatives in sessions about topics like digital divide, online content regulation, cybersecurity, and internet governance. InternetNZ also hosts the NZ Internet Research Forum, occasional speaker series, and community meetups. It convenes roundtables and workshops on specific issues (e.g. copyright, privacy, Māori perspectives on digital policy) (Data Sourced). Through these events, InternetNZ provides a public platform and cultivates thought leadership on internet issues in NZ.
20. Donations: InternetNZ’s primary revenue comes from domain name registration fees, not donations. Financial statements show annual income steadily growing from $11.6M in 2020 to $15.2M in 2024, derived mostly from.nz wholesale fees. As such, InternetNZ does not rely on fundraising or donations from external benefactors. It is not recorded as making political donations to any party or candidate (and as a charity, it faces restrictions on such activity) (Data Not Found). Surplus funds are generally reinvested into community grants, cybersecurity product development, and reserves. If anything, InternetNZ acts as a donor itself via its grants programme. (No evidence was found of InternetNZ soliciting public donations; membership fees are nominal and domain fees serve as its income base.)
21. Controversies: Despite its public-benefit mission, InternetNZ has faced several controversies:
Systemic Racism Allegations (2022): An independent review in late 2022 found “systematic racism” within InternetNZ’s culture, spotlighted when a violent anti-Māori video online was not addressed proactively. Two Māori members of the Council (Amber Craig and Hiria Te Rangi) resigned in protest, calling InternetNZ an old boys’ club that “brushed off” Māori concerns about online hate. This prompted InternetNZ to embark on a “Te Tiriti o Waitangi-centric” reform of its governance and diversity practices.
Free Speech Union Clash (2025): In early 2025, the NZ Free Speech Union (FSU) accused InternetNZ’s proposed new constitution of making the organisation “less democratic, more ideological, and primed for censorship”. The FSU mobilised supporters to join InternetNZ en masse to influence the vote, causing a sudden tripling of membership in one week. InternetNZ’s President rebutted the FSU’s claims as “misrepresentations”. This very public tussle drew media attention to InternetNZ’s stance on content moderation and governance.
Domain Name Policy “Gold Rush” (2014): InternetNZ’s decision to open up registrations directly under “.nz” (allowing second-level domains like yourname.nz) was criticized by some as a revenue-driven move. Observers noted that InternetNZ’s then-subsidiary NZRS stood to “double its revenue” from the ensuing domain registration rush. Critics derided this as a “gold rush” profit motive and urged InternetNZ to disclose how much money it made from the policy change. The episode raised questions about conflicts between InternetNZ’s commercial interests and its public interest duties.
Internal Governance Struggles: InternetNZ has periodically been scrutinized for how it manages conflicts of interest and transparency. For example, having a government official (the Registrar-General of DIA) sit on its governing Council while simultaneously lobbying that government on policy has drawn concern ** **. Detractors have occasionally questioned whether InternetNZ’s advocacy on issues like censorship or telecommunications is influenced by ideological leanings of key figures (given several Council members’ political or activist backgrounds) (Data Sourced). InternetNZ counters these concerns by publishing a detailed register of interests for its Councillors to maintain transparency.
Overall, while InternetNZ is widely respected in the industry, these controversies highlight tensions in its dual role as both a neutral internet infrastructure provider and an active lobbyist on contentious policy issues.
22. Wage Subsidy Support: No record found of InternetNZ receiving Covid-19 wage subsidies. During the 2020–2021 pandemic support scheme, eligibility required a significant revenue decline (30%). InternetNZ’s domain registration income in fact increased slightly during that period (from $11.57M in FY2020 to $12.39M in FY2021), so it did not qualify for or seek wage subsidy support. The organisation maintained financial stability through the pandemic without government subsidy, and there are no disclosures of any wage subsidy in its reports (Data Not Found).
Sources
Companies Office – Internet New Zealand Incorporated: NZBN 9429043201563; Incorporated Society #692906; originally incorporated 01-Nov-1995 as “Internet Society of New Zealand Inc.” (name changed 2008).
Charities Register – Internet New Zealand Inc.: Registered charity CC30982 since 30/06/2008. Legal name “Internet New Zealand Incorporated.” Address: Level 13, 18 Willis St, Wellington. Stated purpose: administer.nz domain for benefit of NZ, promote an open, secure internet, etc..
Wikipedia (InternetNZ): InternetNZ (Internet New Zealand Inc.) is a not-for-profit open membership organisation, designated manager of the.nz ccTLD. Formed in 1995 as Internet Society of NZ, renamed 2008. Overseen by a Council; has subsidiaries Domain Name Commission Ltd and (formerly) NZ Registry Services.
InternetNZ Council Register of Interests: Example – Councillor Kate Pearce declares employment at TradeMe and membership in the NZ Labour Party ; Councillor Jeff Montgomery declares he was Registrar-General (DIA) and lists multiple.nz domains owned. Shows potential conflicts and affiliations of board members.
InternetNZ Submission on Filtering (2020): InternetNZ’s submission on the “Films, Videos, Publications Classification (Urgent Interim…” Bill strongly opposed the bill’s Internet filtering provisions. It argued government-mandated filtering is inconsistent with a free, open Internet and would do more harm than good.
NBR (26 Apr 2011) – “InternetNZ policy director resigns after making Labour list”: Confirms Jordan Carter, InternetNZ’s Policy Director, was on Labour Party list (#40 in 2011) and subsequently resigned to focus on politics. InternetNZ had opposed parts of govt’s UFB plan (Telecomms Amendment Bill) as anti-competitive.
NZ Herald (14 Feb 2025) – Tech Insider on InternetNZ membership spike: Reports an independent review in 2022 found “systematic racism” at InternetNZ, citing a slow response to an anti-Māori hate video and resignations of two Māori council members in protest. Also covers President Stephen Judd’s statements that.nz domain takedowns can only occur via court order, fraudulent registration, or extreme emergencies (like after a mass shooting). Notes Domain Name Commission’s post-Christchurch “emergency tools” (suspending domains, site-locking to block the terrorist manifesto).
The Register (1 Mar 2025) – “Membership of NZ’s domain registry triples”: Describes how the Free Speech Union criticized InternetNZ’s draft constitution as making it “less democratic, more ideological, and primed for censorship.” The FSU objected especially to provisions ensuring Māori representation on the board. InternetNZ President Stephen Judd countered that the FSU was misrepresenting the changes and stirring confusion. The article notes InternetNZ membership surged from ~280 to 1200 in a week due to FSU and Hobson’s Pledge encouraging members to join and vote against changes.
ZDNet (10 Dec 2015) – “NZ joins global CERT club”: Chronicles the creation of CERT NZ. Notes that plans for a NZ CERT had been in discussion since 2006, and the concept “has since then been promoted by InternetNZ and the NZITF among others.”. This highlights InternetNZ’s advocacy role in cybersecurity and influence on government to establish CERT.
Interest.co.nz (27 Jul 2023) – InternetNZ critical of cyber security merger: Reports InternetNZ’s open letter opposing the merger of CERT NZ into GCSB/NCSC. InternetNZ warned this could undermine trust, especially among Māori who “do not trust the security intelligence functions of government.”. The letter argued the merger would reduce CERT’s flexibility and community engagement, and raise fears in marginalized groups due to association with the spy agency.
Scoop (8 Feb 2013) – Vikram Kumar to Mega CEO (press release): Announces former InternetNZ CEO Vikram Kumar’s appointment as CEO of Mega Ltd. States: “Vikram… has earlier worked for central government (State Services Commission) as well as Telecom…”, illustrating his government experience prior to InternetNZ. Also confirms he was InternetNZ CEO until recently.
Larcier-Intersentia Interview (2021) – Joy Liddicoat: Profile of Joy Liddicoat notes: “A former Human Rights Commissioner and Assistant Privacy Commissioner, Joy is President of InternetNZ.”. Shows high-level government roles held by InternetNZ’s then-President.
InternetNZ Constitution Consultation (Oct 2024 draft): As referenced in media, proposed to embed Treaty of Waitangi commitments and guarantee Māori co-governance (e.g., co-chair role, a target of 1/3 Māori board members). Free Speech Union’s objections in Feb 2025 centered on these points, fearing ideological direction.
InternetNZ Annual Return Data (2019–2024) – Charities Register: Financial summary: Income grew from $11.74M (FY2019) to $15.2M (FY2024). Expenditures similarly rose ($11.14M to $13.93M). Demonstrates stable growth, contradicting any need for wage subsidies (no 30% drop in revenue).
Domain Name Commission Archive – Second-Level Domains Consultation (2013): Submission by Ewen McNeill: criticizes opening second-level.nz. Quotes: “‘NZRS will double its revenue’ does not strike me as a compelling reason” to make the change. Suggests InternetNZ should publish how much money the “gold rush” yields and how it’s used. Reflects concerns that InternetNZ’s financial interest was driving policy.
MBIE–InternetNZ Memorandum of Understanding (May 2016): Outlines relationship for.nz oversight. Emphasizes.nz is operated for benefit of local Internet community and that the ultimate say lies with that community. Sets principles (transparent, competitive domain market, etc.) and expectations that InternetNZ will consult openly on.nz policy.
InternetNZ Statement on Christchurch domain actions (2019): (As cited in NZ Herald) – Jordan Carter explained new “emergency powers” to suspend domains would only be used in extreme cases like terrorism, to prevent irreparable harm. Noted that using DNS for censorship is usually impractical and easily bypassed, implicitly arguing such powers won’t solve broader content issues.
Free Speech Union webpage (Feb 2025) on InternetNZ Constitution: FSU’s statement (via The Register and NZ Herald): “less democratic, more ideological, primed for censorship” refers to InternetNZ’s proposed governance changes. Also notes FSU’s issue with the idea of guaranteed Māori seats (they cited “a third of the board would be Māori” as a criticism).
InternetNZ 2011 UFB advocacy (NBR/Chris Keall): InternetNZ opposed the 10-year regulatory forbearance in UFB contracts, aligning with ISP Orcon and others in concern that it was too generous to Chorus. Jordan Carter was actively lobbying on this until his resignation in May 2011 due to political candidacy.
Internal Affairs Censorship Filter History (Wikipedia): Confirms NZ’s Digital Child Exploitation Filtering System (voluntary ISP filter) was introduced around 2010, and groups like Tech Liberty NZ (with which InternetNZ shared members/ideals) objected, citing lack of legal mandate. This provides context to InternetNZ’s stance against general internet filtering.
InternetNZ Fellowship Awards: InternetNZ has awarded “Fellowships” to notable contributors (e.g., Nat Torkington, Rick Shera, Don Stokes, and political blogger David Farrar in 2011). Including Farrar (a National party-affiliated figure) shows InternetNZ engaging across political lines and recognizing supporters of the internet’s development, possibly to foster goodwill and networks.
InternetNZ & CERT NZ partnership (2020): Press release: InternetNZ’s Defenz DNS Firewall started consuming CERT NZ’s threat feed. Illustrates InternetNZ’s venture into cybersecurity services and collaboration with a government-related entity (CERT). This partnership suggests a semi-official role in national cyber defense efforts.
Free Speech Union – No evidence response: The Register noted it asked FSU for specifics on how InternetNZ’s changes could lead to censorship or other claims, and “no response at time of writing.”. Suggests FSU’s claims might have been speculative/slippery-slope rather than evidence-based, whereas InternetNZ provided a clear rebuttal focusing on compliance needs and diversity intent.
InternetNZ Open Letter on CERT NZ (May 2023): Excerpts published by media: “Some communities may not feel safe to engage with a CERT NZ that is… part of the GCSB” ; “merging a public-oriented cybersecurity org with a security service… will result in knowledge gaps filled with speculation, disinformation”. Shows InternetNZ raising ethical concerns about trust and perception, trying to influence ministerial decision.
InternetNZ Engagement in Online Safety Regulation (2023): InternetNZ made a comprehensive submission to DIA’s “Safer Online Services and Media Platforms” discussion (July 2023), likely advocating for a balanced, rights-respecting regulatory framework. (The exact content not footnoted here, but referenced as part of its ongoing lobbying on content regulation).
Digital Inclusion Advocacy: InternetNZ press statements (e.g. Scoop 2018) where CEO Jordan Carter urges political parties to commit to digital inclusion action, praising the Government’s Digital Inclusion Blueprint. Indicates InternetNZ lobbying all parties during an election year to prioritize internet access issues.
Systemic Racism Review (InternetNZ 2022): The independent review (by Kagou Consulting) found InternetNZ’s culture had instances of systemic racism and recommended changes (this was reported in NZ Herald BusinessDesk piece). InternetNZ publicly acknowledged this and tied some constitutional changes to addressing those findings.
Domain Wholesale Fee Reduction (2022): DNCL announced InternetNZ cut the.nz wholesale fee from $1.50 to $1.25 per month (i.e., $18 to $15 annually) effective 1 Oct 2022. This 16% price drop was positioned as benefiting registrants and keeping.nz competitive. It also implicitly utilized InternetNZ’s surplus to “give back,” an ethical business decision possibly to preempt criticism of profiteering.
InternetNZ’s Role in Legislature Hearings: E.g., in 2020, Jordan Carter spoke to a parliamentary committee on the harmful content bill, pointing out flaws (“the Bill leaves a whole lot of issues…unresolved”). This was covered by WSWS (World Socialist Web Site) highlighting InternetNZ as a key critic of potential overreach in censorship law.
ICANNWiki (InternetNZ profile): Notes key people and structure: Vivien Maidaborn (CEO), etc., and summarises InternetNZ’s operation of.nz and policies via DNCL. Confirms.nz registry and DNS were operated by NZRS until merger in 2018.
Each source above provides evidence for factual assertions and sheds light on InternetNZ’s structure, actions, and influence as discussed in this report.
Spot anything in this entry that is wrong? Please either leave a comment at the end or email, in confidence: bryce@democracyproject.nz