Well not quite, but you have to wonder at the madness of the world sometimes - in this case we are talking about Section 92, a 'Guilt Upon Accusation' law that comes into effect on 28th February.

Basically Section 92 means that if anyone acuses someone of copyright infringement,  the ISP of the accused must freeze their internet connection. While on the face of things this may seem like a great idea because piracy is stealing right?! Well the problem comes from the fact that the accuser doesn't actually need to have any evidence. If for example, your next door neighbour rang your ISP and said that you'd downloaded music illegally, you would lose your internet no questions asked.

We undertand it's important to protect copyright - when we go to the music store we don't just buy a CD to listen to music, we do it to help support the band. Copyright helps protect people's creations and helps them receive their due. But what happens when Section 92 comes into effect and you are one of the 25% of people who have a virus on their computer that illegally downloads material without you knowing and the copyright owner then accuses you of copyright infringement? Or what happens to the local library when a random person walks in and uses their computers to download copyrighted material - under the new law the Library's ISP could shut down their internet connection. Yes even librarys aren't immune along with schools, hospitals, kindergartens, fire stations and other civil services.

Ok, so we understand that but what happens if you prove your innocence? Well, you may get your internet connection back but that's it. There's no recourse, no punishment for vindictive accusations and the like

This is why we, at Liquid Silver, don't support Section 92 - while we fully support copyright and protecting property, we just don't believe that allowing people to make accusations without evidence that will potentially have a huge negative impact on people, organisations or companies makes for sane and just law. Nor do we think that it is necessarily a good idea to make ISPs police copyright infringements just because it is 'easier'.

So please join us in lifting your voice and let our government know that a little common sense needs to be exercised with this law and that people shouldn't be automatically treated like criminals, but rather recognise that creativity isn't just about making money and protecting one's rights but also freedom of expression and a fundamental right.

For more information and to join the Internet Blackout, go to www.creativefreedom.org.nz