92A: Termination should be off the table
Media Release – 10 June 2009 - InternetNZ (Internet New Zealand Inc) today calls on the Minister of Commerce, Simon Power, to make sure that the review of s92A of the Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act does not repeat the mistakes the previous law made.
“Termination should be off the table,” says InternetNZ Executive Director Keith Davidson.
“Nobody condones copyright abuse, but the termination of a household or business Internet account is totally out of proportion to the alleged offence.
“If the aim of the review is to find a way to reduce people’s abuse of copyright, it should legislate for a notice system where people who are alleged to be infringing copyright get a notice educating them about the problem.
“Overseas experience shows this cuts repeat infringement by around 70%.
“92A was thrown out by the government after heated community reaction to it. Any attempt to re-introduce this penalty will likely lead to the same public response.
“Instead of trying for termination again, InternetNZ calls on the government to choose a different solution based on notices – a solution that will work for Kiwi Internet users. Only this approach fairly balances copyright rights holder concerns with the public interest in the ongoing development of a free and open Internet,” concludes Davidson.
For more information contact:
Keith Davidson
Executive Director
InternetNZ
+64 4 495 2112
+64 21 377 587
