The Internet Blacks Out in Protest over NZ’s Copyright Laws
Blacked out avatars and profile pictures have emerged all over Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other popular social media sites in protest over the New Zealand government’s internet regulation laws.
This ‘Internet Blackout’, the brainchild of the Creative Freedom Foundation, has attracted international attention in its response to a proposed amendment to New Zealand’s copyright law.
The section of law causing all the commotion is 92A, which assumes Guilt Upon Accusation, forcing internet disconnection based on accusations of copyright infringement without a trial and without any evidence. This would mean internet service providers would be responsible for terminating the internet connections of businesses, libraries and universities etc if an accusation is made regarding someone breaching copyright laws or illegally downloading files.
The law is due to come in to effect on February 28th unless immediate action is taken by National. As such, Creative Freedom has declared February 16th -23rd “Internet Blackout Week NZ”, requesting that everyone blackens out their blog and social media profiles to demonstrate what the future of the internet will look like if this controversial legislation is passed.
By Annemarie Hunter – Search Marketing Specialist
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And I thought it was only the Australian Government making stoopid Internet laws.