Carey said absorbing Sticks ‘n Stones would help Netsafe extend its geographic reach, given its “strong South Island presence”. Netsafe now has 35 staff, with 10 in the South Island.

Sticks ‘n’ Stones was founded in 2013 by Alexandra mother Sanders, who was made a member of the NZ Order of Merit for her work to eliminate bullying in Otago and Southland schools through in-person programmes and by creating a practical advice app called Icon, with support from the Vodafone NZ Foundation (now One NZ’s charitable arm, Te Rourou).

“At the heart of the Sticks ‘n Stones philosophy is young people designing what action they want taken for their online spaces,” Carey said.

He sees that in simpatico with Netsafe initiatives such as its Youth Action Squad (YAS), which is designed to empower young people to “speak up, take action and take action to support each other online.”

Carey said it led to more authentic initiatives in an area where advice and support risks coming over as patronising.

Sticks ‘n Stones also gained more financial security. In its most recently filed accounts, for 2023, the non-profit had total income of $317,055 (including grants from the Central Lakes Trust and Otago Community Trust) and total expenditure of $363,664.

‘Calling out’ Meta

Last month, founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta was ending its fact-checking programme in the United States, in favour of community notes, and moving its trust and safety team from California to Texas and other US locations.

Zuckerberg said the new approach would lead to “more speech and fewer mistakes”.

“Among its changes, Meta loosened rules so people could post statements saying they hated people of certain races, religions or sexual orientations, including permitting “allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation”. The company cited political discourse about transgender rights for the change. It also removed a rule that forbade users to say people of certain races were responsible for spreading the coronavirus,” the New York Times reported.

The non-profit Netsafe has also been criticised for accepting support from Meta and other social media firms, even if the vast bulk of its revenue — $6.99m in 2024, according to the Charities Register — was from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Justice contracts for its work in schools, and its role as the approved agency for the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015.

Carey says Netsafe — which can advocate on your behalf if you have problems contacting a social media platform over a cyberbullying problem — still has strong lines of communication with Meta, despite its deep staff cuts. In fact, he praised it for retaining a policy person for New Zealand (based in Sydney) while its peers had retrenched to regional offices in Singapore. “Trust and safety teams are the ones that get laid off.”

But he also highlights that Netsafe was one of several online safety groups from eight countries — all members of Meta’s Safety Advisory Council — that sent a January 30 open letter to Zuckerberg’s firm. “We are a signatory to calling out Meta on the changes,” the Netsafe chief executive said.

“Groups facing marginalisation offline — including women, LGBTQIA+ communities, immigrants, and others — are disproportionately targeted online. Meta’s rollback of protections risk eroding hard-won safeguards that ensure users feel safe and included in online social environments,” the letter says.

“Harassment and cyberbullying are the forms of hateful conduct most commonly experienced by minors, especially those in the groups just mentioned, and we urge you to continue implementing safety policy corresponding to the unique needs of users under 18. De-prioritising existing safeguards will only embolden harmful behaviours, with repercussions both online and offline.”

Meta has been asked for comment.

NZ Govt action?

The Australian Government has generally been much more on the front foot in its approach to Big Tech, including legislation that allows for fines running into the tens of millions if harmful content, privacy or scam protection laws are breached. Although none of the social media firms have been hit with big penalties, they have coincided with changes in policy — for example the account verification protections that Meta has introduced in Australia but not on this side of the Tasman, where the worst it faces is a ticking-off letter from the Privacy Commissioner.

Is there anything Carey wants our Government to do?

In its November 2023 briefing to incoming Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, Netsafe said the decade-old Harmful Digital Communications Act “urgently needs an update”. The current legislation’s limitations include “its focus on individuals, not groups as targets of online harm”, according to the briefing. It also needs to be expanded to cover the rise of new technologies including AI, with its capacity for deepfakes and associated blackmail, the briefing said. Online stalking also needed to be addressed.

“We want to make sure that the trend, the general direction, is to put more pressure on the platforms,” Carey says.

So far, an HDCA update is not on the horizon.

Carey gives the Government dibs for introducing the Crimes Legislation (Stalking and Harassment) Amendment Bill in December last year (it’s now with the Justice select committee; submissions close on February 13), which will make stalking a crime for the first time, punishable by a sentence of up to five years.

“We think it’s a good first step in terms of the criminal side, but there’s an absence of any reform on the civil side, so it’s just really quite a narrow look at stalking,” Carey says. In its submission, Netsafe will also push for the law to more explicitly cover cyberstalking.

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.