InternetNZ (Internet New Zealand Inc) is continuing to help the New Zealand Internet eco-system with the culmination of two pieces of research it has helped fund.

Every year InternetNZ gives away half a million dollars in community funding to benefit people who use the Internet. As a result of community grants awarded last year for research, Joy Liddicoat from the Association for Progressive

Communications has published a report into how New Zealanders perceive their human rights when using the Internet; while James Mahuta Coyle has conducted an intensive review into privacy laws that apply in the cloud and when sharing personal information online - specifically around which countrys laws apply if the cloud servers are off-shore.

InternetNZ Chief Executive Jordan Carter said that both bodies of work were excellent sources of information for understanding where New Zealand is with its Internet and where its heading.

"Our vision is for a better New Zealand through a better Internet. Its pieces of work like James and Joys that help us understand our current state so we can move forward to a better one.

"The Internet Freedom Monitoring in New Zealand report is a fascinating read. Of the 29 Internet Freedom Indicators in the La Rue Framework, New Zealand is fully compliant with 14, non-compliant with four and its unclear on the remaining 11.

The report found that for the most part New Zealanders are free to express themselves online and that our legal structure supports freedom of expression on the Internet.

"On the flipside, the research also found that there is a high degree of soft censorship and many Internet users just accept this. Maintaining our rights and freedom online is a large reason why we at InternetNZ get out of bed. Its important that we try to make the Internet open and uncapturable.

James Mahuta Coyles Report on New Zealand Privacy Regulation and the Cloud: Current Controls and Option for Reform is about sovereignty over data stored in the cloud, a topic that is just starting to be discussed, the report is one of the first that were aware of to really try and answer the question over which laws apply.

The report describes cloud privacy as an area of study, outlines the current regulatory landscape in New Zealand and presents options for reform during the upcoming legislative review.

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Internet privacy and rights 'at forefront of experts' minds'