Section 92A's three strikes rule being reworked.
The New Zealand government instigated a thoroughly puzzling and incredibly restrictive law in early January '09, called the Copyright Amendment Act.
The Act was created to protect the music industry from people pirating tracks online, and was essentially a warning system - receive three warnings that you were infringing copyright, and your internet would be cut off at the ISP.
This became a problem when a close look at the legislation showed that to get a warning all that had to happen was that someone could simply mention or insinuate that you were doing it - three times in a row - and you'd be left with no recourse.
Not only was it possible (and in some cases extremely probable) that single users would be banned when they had not been doing any illegal activity, the Act also seemed to include businesses too - a single employee could potentially take down a whole office block.
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) has spoken out about their views on this just two weeks ago, and they don't seem to have any problem with it, even if there is no punishment for those who falsely accuse others.
News is not all bad however, since the New Zealand government has finally decided to give the Act the boot:
"Allowing section 92A to come into force in its current format would not be appropriate given the level of uncertainty around its operation... While the government remains intent on tackling this problem, the legislation itself needs to be re-examined and reworked to address concerns held by stakeholders and the government."
Amusingly the RIANZ has made a statement since this announcement showing their disapproval - most likely because their argument two weeks ago was for them to be tightened more - but they definitely seem to be holding out for the law to come back in full force:
"The delay required to implement the government's decision to amend the law is obviously disappointing but that's a price worth paying if the result is clear legislation that effectively addresses the problem.
For now however, it seems that the people of New Zealand can continue using their internet in the manner so many others are accustomed to - that being specifically, freely.
Issue: 107 | December, 2009