All right, Telstra and Google

Section 92a is probably dead in the water now, after Telstra clear pulled out of any negotiations with the Telecommunications Carriers Forum.

"You have got to have sympathy for the Government. They have inherited an ambiguous mess and you can understand why they might have hoped a code would make this go away. But we have had unprecedented customer concern and we can't try to make a bad law work."The idea our customers can be disconnected on accusation and not proof does not pass the 'fair test'."

Next, Google has also considered this important enough to make a submission

In its submission, Google notes that more than half (57%) of the takedown notices it has received under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998, were sent by business targeting competitors and over one third (37%) of notices were not valid copyright claims.

As such, Google says "Section 92A puts users’ procedural and fundamental rights at risk, by threatening to terminate users’ internet access based on mere allegations and reverse the burden of proof onto a user to establish there was no infringement."

It goes on to say, "Section 92A undermines the incredible social and economic benefits of the open and universally accessible internet, by providing for a remedy of account termination or disconnection that is disproportionate to the harm of copyright infringement online."

92a suspended

Seems that all the outcry by the internet user and developer community reached the government and the section 92a amendment has been suspended.

Prime Minister John Key said the law change would be delayed till March 27 to give more time for the recording and internet industries to reach an agreement setting out how ISPs would apply the clause. If no agreement was reached, section 92a might be "suspended" and the act re-written.

More at http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/1755057

Let's see where this goes, there needs to be a disengagement between rights management and internet access as opposing sides.

Section 92a - Guilty by Accusation

As part of the DRM (Digital Rights Management) and Copyright regime's push worldwide for compliance, a law is being proposed to be passed in New Zealand. Section 92a, that amends the country's copyright law is expected to come into force on February 28.

What has drawn near-universal criticism, is the provision that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are to terminate the connection of anyone labelled a 'repeat infringer' of copyright violations. So just 'repeated accusations' are required, without further proof. Certainly a deviation of normal justice. The lack of response of the government to the criticism is drawing increasing ire.

At the Webstock conference, one of the game trading cards is used to highlight this.



At creativenewzealand.org a protest NZ Internet blackout has been called. Hence you see my profile photo blacked out on most of social websites.



Another potential side-effect is it adds another reason to the creative IT community in NZ to leave for other shores.

The legislation
News article on parliament protest.
Blog post on Geekzone