New Zealand have introduced what is “probably the world’s harshest copyright laws’ which combine presumption of guilt against file sharers with a disturbingly unfocused definition of what an ISP might be.

Libraries, schools and bloggers like me would all qualify as ISP’s, it seems.

The regulation is somewhat similar in scope to ideas that were floated in the UK – and then dropped as unworkable – where ‘file sharers’ would lose their internet connection if found to be illegally sharing content.

One source Sandlines found this week suggested that the law was passed in response to some tough dealing from the US over free trade agreements: in other words, the suggestion is that the NZ government were essentially blackmailed into introducing this legislation by the US.

So I’m joining the blackout.

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