New Zealand creative freedom website encourages blackout against Section 92A law

Thousands of bloggers and users of social networking sites have ‘blacked out' their profiles in support of a New Zealand protest group.

A protest has been created by the Creative Freedom website against the Section 92A law that instructs internet service providers to cut a user's connection if a music company accuses them of copyright infringement, that is due to come into effect on February 28th unless immediate action is taken by the National Party.

It is using the ‘blackout' theme to encourage blogs and websites to ‘dim the lights' as a means of drawing attention to the issue that could leave New Zealanders in the dark.

The organisation claims that the law calls for internet disconnection based on accusations of copyright infringement without a trial and without any evidence held up to court scrutiny.

The blackout is part of a week of action against S92. A S92 song remix challenge will be announced tomorrow, and various other initiatives including video commercials and radio broadcasts will follow.

Creative Freedom Foundation director, Bronwyn Holloway-Smith, said: “If the government chooses to keep this law, they will be going against international trends, treating NZ as an international lab-rat for this kind of legislation. Similar legislation has recently been proposed and rejected in other countries: Germany said Section 92A-like laws were ‘unfit for Germany, unfit for Europe'. The UK rejected them due to ‘impracticalities and complexities' and the EU rejected them saying they were against ‘a fair balance between various fundamental rights'.” 

New Zealand based security blogger Mauricio Freitas, said: “This is wrong in so many ways. No proof, no trial, no accountability. Any company representing a ‘copyright holder' can unload thousands of those letters and ISPs would have to cut the service to their customers.”

See original article on scmagazineuk.com