Jonathan Ayling, Chief Executive of the Free Speech Union, has been elected to the InternetNZ board following a recent membership vote.
This election comes after a campaign by the Free Speech Union to increase InternetNZ memberships and influence, aiming to restore focus on free speech and democratic governance within the organisation.
The Free Speech Union criticised recent proposed changes to InternetNZ’s constitution, which it said risked shifting the organisation away from its core technical role toward content regulation and limiting online speech.
InternetNZ proposed changing its constitution to embed Treaty of Waitangi principles into its governance, effectively shifting from a purely technical and neutral role to a “treaty-led” or culturally focused organisation. This move aimed to acknowledge Māori-Crown relationships within the organisation’s decision-making and incorporate Māori representation and accountability.
Critics argued this would politicise InternetNZ, which manages New Zealand’s .nz domain space and traditionally operates with technical neutrality. They warned the changes could lead to censorship and undermine InternetNZ’s core function of impartial domain management. The union argues decisions about harmful content should be made by Parliament, not by InternetNZ’s board.
Ayling said he will bring principled leadership to defend openness, innovation, and freedom of expression on New Zealand’s internet. The Free Speech Union emphasised its goal is to protect intellectual diversity and ensure all Kiwis can speak freely online, regardless of whether their views are popular.
Read more over at The Free Speech Union
The Centrist is a new online news platform that strives to provide a balance to the public debate - where this article was sourced.
InternetNZ proposed changing its constitution to embed Treaty of Waitangi principles into its governance, effectively shifting from a purely technical and neutral role to a “treaty-led” or culturally focused organisation. This move aimed to acknowledge Māori-Crown relationships within the organisation’s decision-making and incorporate Māori representation and accountability.
Critics argued this would politicise InternetNZ, which manages New Zealand’s .nz domain space and traditionally operates with technical neutrality. They warned the changes could lead to censorship and undermine InternetNZ’s core function of impartial domain management. The union argues decisions about harmful content should be made by Parliament, not by InternetNZ’s board.
Ayling said he will bring principled leadership to defend openness, innovation, and freedom of expression on New Zealand’s internet. The Free Speech Union emphasised its goal is to protect intellectual diversity and ensure all Kiwis can speak freely online, regardless of whether their views are popular.
Read more over at The Free Speech Union
The Centrist is a new online news platform that strives to provide a balance to the public debate - where this article was sourced.
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