Recently the creative community in New Zealand was in an uproar due to new legislation regarding copyright. It was intended to protect copyright holders, but had the side effect of by-passing ‘innocence until proven guilty’ and undermining the bill of rights.

“Section 92 of the Copyright Amendment Act assumes Guilt Upon Accusation and forces the termination of internet connections and websites without evidence, without a fair trial, and without punishment for any false accusations of copyright infringement.”

A group of creative New Zealanders decided to do something about it, and started an ‘Internet Blackout ‘ campaign to show what the internet could look like after the new law came into force. Many people changed the facebook profile pictures to a black square, and participating companies took down their websites during the campaign to raise awareness. This successfully brought a lot of attention to the issue, and the legislation has been delayed a month to try and find a workable solution.

Rose

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