Last Straw

Some­how copy­right hold­ers have man­aged to roy­ally trump all other interests in get­ting an unbe­liev­ably crap copy­right law through Par­lia­ment; giv­ing New Zea­l­and the most dra­conian copy­right law in the world, which allows people and organ­isa­tions to be dis­con­nec­ted from the inter­net simply on the basis of accus­a­tions of “copy­right infringe­ment.” No courts involved. “Guilt upon accus­a­tion,” as Juha Saar­inen puts it.

Here’s Rus­sell Brown’s take, and David Farrar’s (although pre­dict­ably defens­ive of National) and Juha Saar­inen for Geekzone.

You can blame both Labour and National for this screw up. It’s a reveal­ing glimpse into the author­it­arian streak that runs through both these parties. The Greens (as usual) and the Maori parties were the only ones to sens­ibly vote against this crap.

Really, if you vote Labour or National take this as a good reason to con­sider other parties when you vote next time.

The best way to deal with this screw up is to repeal the law.