Every website with ".nz" at the end of its address must be registered through InternetNZ. InternetNZ sets rules for who can have a website ending in ".nz", which names they can use for their web addresses, and what might lead to an address being revoked. 

InternetNZ has managed the process for 30 years. It has performed its function so quietly and efficiently that most New Zealanders may never have heard of the organisation. Until recently, InternetNZ’s mission was about as exciting as peacekeeping on the Chatham Islands. 

But it seems that InternetNZ has grown tired of obscurity. Its Council has recently made some very interesting statements and proposals. 

First, it strangely declared itself to be systemically racist. Its proposed remedy is to restrict its membership to those who agree that InternetNZ should be 'Te Tiriti centric' – a fashionable way of saying it will prioritise a politicised interpretation of the Treaty in all its decisions. 

Next, the Council proposed a new, more heroic role for InternetNZ. It wants the organisation to help protect people from harm on the internet. 
  
At first blush, this makes no sense. InternetNZ has no power to protect anyone. If it refuses a ‘.nz’ address, there are plenty of international providers willing to register a website. So, what is really going on? 

A cynic might suspect that it is just another case of performative virtue signalling. But the most plausible explanation is that it is a cunning plan to boost revenue. And it has worked. 

You see, InternetNZ's proposals drew fire from the Free Speech Union (FSU). The FSU wrote to its members warning them of risks: An InternetNZ with a mandate to prevent internet harm might be tempted to indulge in a bit of censorship on the side. 

The FSU worries that a new activist InternetNZ might start revoking the website addresses of groups with unpopular opinions. After all, why seek shiny new powers if one does not intend to use them? 

The FSU invited its members to pay the $21 fee to join InternetNZ and help vote down the proposal. Many did so. 

In the following days, InternetNZ membership rose from 360 to more than two thousand. InternetNZ's mission to end internet harm might be implausible, but it has increased its membership income from $7.5k to $44k. 

Now, the Council can quietly drop its proposal and book itself a nice junket in Fiji.