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The government-funded agency meant to protect New Zealanders from online harm is itself facing bullying allegations, a $100,000 fine for privacy breaches and a departing CEO.
The saga at Netsafe raises questions over the need for change at the organisation at a time when the issue of cyberbullying is causing enormous harm, particularly among younger users.
The Herald's technology editor Chris Keall has been following the beleaguered organisation since its inception and he tells The Front Page podcast three recent issues underline some of the core structural issues that have always underpinned Netsafe for some time.
"The Human Rights Tribunal notes that he had criminal convictions through the family court for breaching restraint orders – so, in other words, he was stalking them," explains Keall.
"He managed to turn the tables because he somehow accessed the three women's private Facebook communications and then laid a complaint under the Harmful Digital Communications Act, which Netsafe had to investigate as the approved agency."
It was essentially an example of an organisation designed to protect people being used to cause more harm.
"This all happened over a period of three years, during which they've been harassed through the District Court. And finally, the Privacy Commissioner knocked it on the head and said, 'You've been misusing this path through these women's personal information' and the case was referred to the Tribunal, which awarded each woman a sum of $30,000 each as well as $10,000 in costs.
"So it was a total of $100,000 in damages. Netsafe's new leadership has also apologised for the organisation's actions on that case."
The reason Netsafe is under new leadership is because the key bosses at the organisation recently departed the organisation abruptly.
"Longtime CEO Martin Cocker in November gave three weeks' notice, which is a very short period for a chief executive of a major organisation," says Keall.
"He left in December and the chairman [Jon Duffy] left at the same time. Since then they've had an acting CEO Andrea Leask and a new chairman Collin James, whose day job is in IT at Fletcher Building. It was a very abrupt change of leadership, but it has also presented an opportunity for a new broom and perhaps some change."
Former Netsafe boss Martin Cocker. Photo / Supplied
Keall says that Cocker did not give any specific reasons for his departure, simply saying it was his time to go.
Amid all of the chaos, Netsafe has also faced accusations of bullying within the organisation, which has led to an internal investigation.
Keall said that Netsafe's leadership had no comment to make on this matter.
The gravity of Nestafe's importance should not be underestimated. The impact of social media on younger people has been harrowing over the last decade. Teen girls, in particular, have faced the brunt of the onslaught of online bullying. Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen said last year that the company has known for years about the harm that Instagram causes younger users. Suicide, self-harm and body dysmorphia are just some of the issues that teens have to contend with. And as things stand, New Zealand simply isn't doing a good job of keeping them safe.
Keall believes an argument to be made for restructuring Netsafe entirely so that it is better equipped to do the job that it's required to do.
"Part of me wonders if it should be placed under the Ministry of Justice because we have seen mission creep," says Keall.
"Netsafe was set up under the Harmful Digital Communications Act to deal with harassment and online bullying, but it has drifted into fraud, and blackmail, and it's offered emotional support for victims.
"But crimes like those aren't covered by the Act. They need police, they need the Ministry of Justice in there. And I just think it's such an important organisation that it should be fully Crown-funded and have the weight of Crown Law behind it."
Keall believes Australia's approach offers an example New Zealand could follow.
"I was recently at a business series lunch, which had a New Zealand cop and an Australian cop. The New Zealand cop was complaining about the fragmentation in our response, whereas the Australian cop said all the agencies over there that deal with online issues are literally under the same roof.
"There just seems to be a lot more cohesion and more legal crunch behind things in Australia."
