New Zealand Libraries Considering Shutting Off Public Internet Access To Avoid Three Strikes Law

from the nicely-done dept

Thu, May 19th 2011 10:13pm — Mike Masnick

We already saw just how confused about the basics New Zealand politicians were before rushing through a poorly thought-out, US-driven copyright law change that put in place a "three strikes" provision. And, now, some of the consequences are becoming clear. While various librarians insist they made this issue known to elected officials, the law makes no exception for operations like a library. That is, if three people in a library use the internet connection there for infringing purposes, the entire library may lose its internet access.

Thus, in order to preserve internet access for those who work at the library, many New Zealand libraries are considering turning off internet access for the public (via TorrentFreak. This is a ridiculous and unfortunate result, but it's what happens when you have politicians making decisions based on economic and technological cluelessness, driven by specific lobbying interests.

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Filed Under: libraries, new zealand, three strikes, wifi, wireless

31 Comments

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Matt P (profile), 19 May 2011 @ 10:46pm

Oh the government was definitely warned of this. I listed it as a possibility in the submission I sent to the "discussion" committee last year, as did many others.

They knew. The issue is, as the Wikileaks cables show, our government has no intention of letting things like public outcry or technical hurdles get in the way of pleasing the US lobbyists.

The other half couldn't find the "Start" button in Windows XP.
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- Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2011 @ 11:12pm
  
  Re:
  These consequences are intentional. Governments have no intent of serving the public interest, and that is especially true of the U.S. government (but of most governments in general).
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  - The eejit (profile), 19 May 2011 @ 11:30pm
    
    Re: Re:
    And yet, Big Media is the only one whose "Trade union" is influencing things way outside their intended sphere.
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    - Derek Kerton (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 9:49am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Really?
      
      Never heard of the Military Industrial Complex?
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mike allen (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 12:59am

Same thing will happen the world over most governments do not want the public to actually have access to information on the scale of the internet. They fear they may be found out to be the fools they are. er sorry to tell you politicians we already know.
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- Violet Theviolet, 21 May 2011 @ 10:20pm
  
  Response to: mike allen on May 20th, 2011 @ 12:59am
  In cases such as this.....amateur radio will foil them as a method of sending and receiving "questionable" material. It's possible for them to jam one or more frequencies......but not all of them.
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Darryl, 20 May 2011 @ 1:57am

How bout some consistency Mike ?? Please.
apparently the US International Trade Commission held hearings where it heard from a bunch of folks explaining how inaccurate industry reports on "losses from piracy" are....

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100617/0228329860.shtml

"This is a ridiculous and unfortunate result, but it's what happens when you have politicians making decisions based on economic and technological cluelessness, driven by specific lobbying interests."

Unless you happen to agree with those specific lobbying interests, as you clearly indicated that you were in regard to the US ITC !

This is the two faces of Mike !

You play the same game as they do Mike, but you are not nearly as good at it.

So you are a hero if you lobby the US ITC about 'losses from piracy' (a bunch of folks). And that for you is something you keep as a reference to explain your arguments and refer back too.

When you read what the facts are, most (thinking) people can work it out that you are bi-polar, something (anything) is good if it supports your mantra, but that exact same thing (anything) can be bad if it disagrees with your, what I consider to be a very narrow, self centered and biased world view.
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- The eejit (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 3:07am
  
  Re: How bout some consistency Mike ?? Please.
  And you're an Aussie. How is that any different?[/sarc]
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- martyburns (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 3:08am
  
  Re: How bout some consistency Mike ?? Please.
  I'm sorry, can you please point out the contradiction more clearly, I re-read both articles and still don't see one.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 20 May 2011 @ 6:02am
    
    Re: Re: How bout some consistency Mike ?? Please.
    I also cant find any contradictions there...
    
    Darryl seems to be insane.
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    - Greg G (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 6:34am
      
      Re: Re: Re: How bout some consistency Mike ?? Please.
      Darryl is insane. I've read his posts before and he does the very thing he accuses Mike of, which is "...something (anything) is good if it supports your mantra, but that exact same thing (anything) can be bad if it disagrees with your, what I consider to be a very narrow, self centered and biased world view."
      
      Seems like Darryl lives in that narrow, self centered and biased world himself.
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- Squirrel Brains (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 5:30am
  
  Re: How bout some consistency Mike ?? Please.
  Your point is inane. People are able to make credibility judgments. We should be skeptical of self-serving industry data. When an industry goes to Congress and presents numbers in order to benefit themselves, the default judgment should be that they are lying unless they are back their claims up rigorously with good data and proper methods (which Big Media never does).
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- Derek Kerton (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 9:56am
  
  Re: How bout some consistency Mike ?? Please.
  Darryl,
  
  Please send me a link to a single post, in 13 years, where Mike didn't support:
  
  - More open, more free, more democratic, more universal access to information, connectivity, and the body of human knowledge.
  - equal access to government, and equal influence for citizens rich and poor.
  
  Also, for bonus points, please explain to me how the above is a narrow, self-centered world view. If you succeed, then you are not a crazy idiot.
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- Anonymous Coward, 20 May 2011 @ 11:47am
  
  Re: How bout some consistency Mike ?? Please.
  Can you please rephrase your point in an understandable fashion?
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darryl, 20 May 2011 @ 2:07am

"held hearings" = "Lobbying"
But for you Mike, if you agree with them, they hold hearings and are 'industry experts' and if you dont agree with them they are clueless lobbyists with specific lobbying interests.

Nothing like putting lipstick on a pig, or a touch of spin doctoring, to fool the blind masses, and get page clicks.
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- Anonymous Coward, 20 May 2011 @ 2:59am
  
  Re: "held hearings" = "Lobbying"
  I agree, the public's poor shouldn't be able to access the internet in a library.
  
  Because jobs! The economy. America! And freedom.
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  - Chargone (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 4:01am
    
    Re: Re: "held hearings" = "Lobbying"
    yes... America...
    
    good grief. can't they at least keep their stupid on their own side of the pacific?
    
    freakin' politicians.
    
    worst part is the same government will probably get back in because, gasp, earthquake.
    
    somehow people are too dim to realise that 'oh, there was a big disaster and they didn't screw up following the preexisting contingency plans and their general massive increase in direct power didn't imeidately cause my house to burn down' is a good reason not to replace them, despite repeated screw ups of this nature (and outright failure to deliver on promisies, lies, general sneakery, and acting against the public interest)
    
    here abouts we have a left wing who screw up due to mistaking the map for the teritory (ideology vs reality) but at least mostly try to do right by the people usualy (with varying degrees of success) and right wing who screw up due to little more than greed and insist on enacting policies that benifit a Very few rich people here and a whole lot of over seas investors/forigen corporations... and no one else. (policies that don't even benifit the former in the long run :S)
    
    wonderful choice really.
    
    (actually, go a little further around the seating layout and you get to some Really interesting nutjobs... and some compleatly inefectual centerists (not that centerists are inherantly ineffectual, just that our centerist parties suck.)
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    - Greg G (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 6:44am
      
      Re: Re: Re: "held hearings" = "Lobbying"
      good grief. can't they at least keep their stupid on their own side of the pacific?
      
      Actually, I wish we could ship our stupid out of America to some unwitting country, like say, Canada. It's close and they could all live in Nunavut, and if that's still too far south, keep moving them up to the Queen Elizabeth Islands or Ellesmere Island.
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      - BigKeithO (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 12:48pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: "held hearings" = "Lobbying"
        We've got enough stupid as is up here already, you keep your stupid where it is!
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- Squirrel Brains (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 5:33am
  
  Re: "held hearings" = "Lobbying"
  Again you miss the point. Sure, the people who debunk industry numbers naturally agree more with Mike. But Mike is able to make a credibility judgment. I am sure that Mike has enough integrity to point out when Big Media has produced a good study with a valid method. Plus we can make credibility judgments for ourselves. If your so hot and bothered, why don't you present your own analysis of the issue?
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abc gum, 20 May 2011 @ 4:48am

The law of unintended consequences will bite you in the ass every time. This will receive little attention and less corrective action because it does not affect rich people. Funding for public libraries is already under attack, soon they will be no more. This will work out well for those looking to "take back america", for an ignorant population is easier to rule.
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- Chargone (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 2:41pm
  
  Re:
  ... which would be far more relevant if the article were actually talking about America.
  
  New Zealand is a compleatly different country on the other side of the pacific.
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  - abc gum, 20 May 2011 @ 4:51pm
    
    Re: Re:
    "New Zealand is a compleatly different country on the other side of the pacific."
    
    And who do you think attempts to write their laws for them?
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DannyB (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 5:59am

It doesn't break the Internet
Of course, we'll hear from the usual anonymous crowd that draconian laws that break the Internet don't actually break the Internet.

I just don't see it.

I just don't get it.

This is one more example of an outcome, that was easily predictable, that results from these insane laws.
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Vic, 20 May 2011 @ 9:13am

Mike,

I would like to clarify something. That sentence:

That is, if three people in a library use the internet connection there for infringing purposes, the entire library may lose its internet access.

Is it really necessary for those three people to infringe using the internet connection or just get ACCUSED of doing so?
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- Atkray (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 10:43am
  
  Re:
  Sadly,
  
  you are correct sir.
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  - Chargone (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 2:43pm
    
    Re: Re:
    well, get accused and the library doesn't go through the legal process of fighting it.
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    - Vic, 20 May 2011 @ 3:40pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Right, except for time frame involved. To go through legal processes - takes time, some time, often long time.
      
      Three strikes law strikes right away. Three accusations = click the switch!
      
      So, in real life all that follows "and" in your response asymptotically disappears.
      
      Really sad...
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Chahk Noir (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 2:31pm

It was only a matter of time.
First the libraries, then what? Internet cafes? WiFi hot-spots at Starbucks? Pretty soon any and all public Internet access will have to close down.

How's that "encouraging innovation" going for ya, NZ?
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- Chargone (profile), 20 May 2011 @ 2:45pm
  
  Re: It was only a matter of time.
  about as well as you'd expect in a country who's international trade policy usually amounts to 'how can we screw over all our internal industries except dairy, and either raise prices or destroy quality for the consumer?' *sigh*
  
  (well, ok, that may not be Quite true, but it usually looks like it.)
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Jul 2011 @ 9:06pm

Mike supports more democracy, but only when he agrees with the judges decision
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