Labour opposes suspending access to the internet as a penalty

Labour today announced it would support the Government’s Copyright Infringement File Sharing Amendment Bill but remains strongly opposed to some aspects of the Bill.

Labour’s Communications and IT spokesperson Clare Curran said the bill includes some sensible provisions, so Labour will be supporting it to select committee to make sure people have a chance to have their say.

However, Labour is strongly opposed to the provision for suspension of an Internet Service Provider (ISP) account.

"Labour believes that enacting this Bill will not address the fundamental issues of copyright infringement and unauthorised peer to peer file sharing,” Clare Curran said.

"The digital age has meant that corporations which have traditionally controlled and managed the distribution of creative content are losing control of that distribution.

"The prevalence of peer to peer file sharing across the world is a result of the market’s inability to control and distribute content, more than the illegal behaviour of hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders and millions of people across the globe.

"However, Labour believes that the ability of copyright holders to protect their rights in the digital age is a fundamental issue that needs to be addressed, given the transformations that have occurred in technology and the ability of the existing laws to respond adequately.”

Clare Curran said that intense and widespread public reaction to the introduction of Section 92A led Labour to conclude early in 2009 that the issue needed to be re-addressed.

"Labour quickly moved after the election to acknowledge there were problems with S92A and consulted widely with stakeholders," Clare Curran said.

"Labour believes that the government should invest more time and money investigating how to enable New Zealand content creators to use new technologies to promote and distribute their work to national and international audiences, in such a way that allows them to build profitable and sustainable businesses," Clare Curran said.

“National also needs to clarify the relationship of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to NZ’s copyright laws.”

ENDS

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