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NZ Illegal Downloading Crackdown Law In Effect

Posted by samzenpus on from the heat-is-on dept.

First time accepted submitter sfranklin writes "As of Sept 1 at midnight, 'anyone caught downloading copyrighted content illegally could face fines of up to $15,000 and have their internet cut off' in New Zealand. You don't even have to do the deed yourself. The 'account holder needs to know what's going on even if they themselves don't do anything online ...' Scary stuff, although I wonder how much actual enforcement is likely to happen."

2 of 329 comments (clear)

  1. Simple by Sasayaki · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It'll be enforced almost never, except against people who earn a personal grudge from someone in authority. Turn down that creepy ex-politician for a date? Get a knock on the door from the state sponsored copyright cops. Film a cop beating up a homeless guy and post the video on YouTube? Your NAS gets seized by her majesty's finest.

    It's like criminalizing swearing. Since everyone except extreme outliers is guilty of the crime at some point or another, it's not possible to enforce it properly so the law becomes just something else to throw at people who piss off people with power.

    --
    Check out my sci-fi book "Lacuna" at http://goo.gl/MVxX8
  2. As a kiwi. . by Master+Moose · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't think that anyone actually wants us to use the internet.

    We have always been penalised because of and by it. Expensive and slow by international standards. . . and now this finally passes (it has been on the books for some time)

    I would write more, but I am likely to go over my data cap any minute.

    --
    . . .gone when the morning comes