NZ Government Going Ahead With S92A
The new National government finally made their intentions clear: they will stick with S92A, removing New Zealander’s right to due process and court trial before being found guilty. Communications and Information Technology Minister Stephen Joyce announced that the government would take no action to repeal the law: “the new “guilt by accusation” law would result in internet service providers (ISPs) being forced to take on the role of gatekeeper by [disconnecting] anyone accused of flouting copyright laws. Calls to repeal [Section 92A] have been knocked back by the Government.”. With the UK backing down on their Guilt Upon Accusation laws it seems that NZ is the only one remaining willing to punish citizens before a trial and before any evidence has been held up to court scrutiny. After the 28th of February the Government can still repeal S92A and the CFF will do what it can. It’s important however to distinguish S92A from the copyright changes on the horizon such as ACTA. Pushing for a fair balance in digital rights and Copyright Law in NZ will be an ongoing task, and CFF are up for the long haul. We’ve recently marked our 1 month anniversary, and during the past month we’ve had an amazing response from the public, going to show that there are plenty of you who understand the issues better than Steven Joyce does. Thousands of artists are taking a stand to say: Not In My Name. So it has begun.
