Thursday, January 1, 2009
Section 92A of the New Zealand Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act & How it Affects You, The Customer.
12:00 AM
On February 28th 2009 a new law will be passed in New Zealand, this law in it's most basic explanation says that "if your ISP suspects you of downloading copyrighted materials it will cut off your internet access".
Sadly for New Zealand ISP and internet customers alike the way in which Section 92A is worded is not only vague but confusing also. The way this law defines an ISP also includes Universities, schools, libraries and anyone who provides an internet connection to people. So if your parents provide you with internet access, under Section 92A they qualify as an ISP.
Another downfall when it comes to this badly written, hastily pushed through new law is that if an ISP even suspects that you are downloading copyrighted materials they BY LAW have to shut off your internet connection. Now I understand the need to protect copyrighted material, just by working in a video store I can tell you that by customers downloading movies instead of hiring them our store's profits have been cut by a drastic amount. But because of the way this law has to be enforced it violates customer's rights and their expectancy of a certain amount of privacy.
This law is just trying to solve one problem (downloading copyrighted materials) by creating another problem (forcing ISP's to become internet police).
Ernie Newman of Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealand has been quoted as saying “It is unacceptable that Parliament has placed the burden of sorting out this mess on ISPs, ISPs in New Zealand are socially responsible; it’s not their job to interpret and enforce vague laws, particularly when they interfere with their customers’ rights. Worse still, the definition of ISP in the Act captures schools, universities, and libraries – in fact just about anyone who provides internet access to someone else. The loose language Parliament has included in the legislation will require an army of lawyers to interpret, at the expense of ISPs and ultimately, their customers.”
And the TUANZ aren't the only ones who feel this way, both customers and ISP's alike seem to be united in the fact that this is a horribly rushed, badly worded, pointless, and generally difficult piece of legislation to police. It seems like Section 92A is more of a showpiece for the New Zealand Government to prove how "up to date" and "tech savy" they are.
Basically, Section 92A is a pile of dogshit
Sadly for New Zealand ISP and internet customers alike the way in which Section 92A is worded is not only vague but confusing also. The way this law defines an ISP also includes Universities, schools, libraries and anyone who provides an internet connection to people. So if your parents provide you with internet access, under Section 92A they qualify as an ISP.
Another downfall when it comes to this badly written, hastily pushed through new law is that if an ISP even suspects that you are downloading copyrighted materials they BY LAW have to shut off your internet connection. Now I understand the need to protect copyrighted material, just by working in a video store I can tell you that by customers downloading movies instead of hiring them our store's profits have been cut by a drastic amount. But because of the way this law has to be enforced it violates customer's rights and their expectancy of a certain amount of privacy.
This law is just trying to solve one problem (downloading copyrighted materials) by creating another problem (forcing ISP's to become internet police).
Ernie Newman of Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealand has been quoted as saying “It is unacceptable that Parliament has placed the burden of sorting out this mess on ISPs, ISPs in New Zealand are socially responsible; it’s not their job to interpret and enforce vague laws, particularly when they interfere with their customers’ rights. Worse still, the definition of ISP in the Act captures schools, universities, and libraries – in fact just about anyone who provides internet access to someone else. The loose language Parliament has included in the legislation will require an army of lawyers to interpret, at the expense of ISPs and ultimately, their customers.”
And the TUANZ aren't the only ones who feel this way, both customers and ISP's alike seem to be united in the fact that this is a horribly rushed, badly worded, pointless, and generally difficult piece of legislation to police. It seems like Section 92A is more of a showpiece for the New Zealand Government to prove how "up to date" and "tech savy" they are.
Basically, Section 92A is a pile of dogshit
Labels:
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Blah Blah Blah
- Grace C
- I love movies, and for over 5 years I worked at a video store somewhere in the depths of Auckland so I could be close to my precious movies & rent those bitches for free! However, I have since moved on. But even after moving on from the store I still have a load of video store stories of crazy customers and random happenings to talk about!!