New Zealand Proposes Internet Suspension, $15,000 Fine for File-Sharers

Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment would provide new enforcement measures against the unauthorized sharing of copyright material on the Internet, including suspension of Internet access for up to 6 months and compensation to copyright holders of up to $15,000 ($10,422 USD).

Last week Commerce Minister Simon Power introduced a bill in New Zealand that would amend the Copyright Act of 1994 in order to provide new enforcement measures against the unauthorized sharing of copyright material on the Internet.

The Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Bill repeals the controversial Section 92A and replaces it with a “three-strikes” regime deter illegal file-sharing.

“This amendment puts in place a fair and balanced process to deal with online copyright infringements occurring via file sharing,” Power says in a press release. “The major feature is the three-notice process, which educates the public about illegal file sharing and provides effective methods for copyright owners to enforce their copyright. It ensures that file sharers are given adequate warnings that unauthorized sharing of copyright works is illegal.”

The legislation includes a “three strikes” regime that would allow copyright holders to seek financial compensation from file-sharers as well as temporary suspension of their Internet connections for up to 6mos.

The former would entail the creation of a Tribunal that copyright holders could petition for compensation awards of up to $15,000 ($10,422 USD), and the latter would require an application against the accused in a District Court.

All penalties follow the standard “three-strikes” regimen of three notifications, detection, warning, and enforcement.

The bill is a marked improvement from the previous section92A now a court order is required to disconnect file-sharers rather than simply allowing ISPs to be judge, jury, and executioner as was the case before.

“The role of judge has now been moved back to the justice system, and the newly repurposed Copyright Tribunal who are actually qualified to understand copyright law,” says the Creative Freedom Foundation, a New Zealand digital rights advocacy organization.

However, the group is still concerned that Internet disconnection is still on the table, be it even a temporary suspension of service.

“The internet has become a core, vital service – you wouldn’t terminate someone’s right to post a letter,” said the group’s director, Bronwyn Holloway-Smith.

She’s also concerned that the fines won’t be proportionate to the actual losses perceived by copyright holders.

“We’ve yet to see what scale they will be basing their fines on,” she said. “We want something proportionate.”

Another flaw, as pointed out by InternetNZ, a New Zealand non-profit group that promotes “high performance and unfettered (Internet) access for all,” is that people with suspended accounts could simply switch to another ISP, and that if that’s the case there’s no point in disconnecting them in the first place.

Either way, at least the bill is much better than the previous Section 92A, or the “guilt upon accusation law.”

Stay tuned.

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