Statistics New Zealand recently released the results of their latest survey of ISPs (Internet Survey Providers). This included data on how many ISPs offered an Internet content filtering service.
Continue reading Internet Filtering Offered by ISPs
Category Archives: article
Original articles by Tech Liberty
ACTA and the New Copyright Deal
Why New Zealand should withdraw from the secret and anti-democratic process around the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) treaty negotiations.
Summary
- New technology is creating challenges to copyright and therefore the content industry.
- Our copyright laws will need to change in a way that meets the requirements of everyone.
- The ACTA process is trying to use a secretive and undemocratic process to change our copyright laws to satisfy one sector.
- The New Zealand government should withdraw from the ACTA negotiations and keep to treaties that can be publicly discussed.
Law Commission to Review Official Information Act
The Law Commission is continuing its run of reviewing significant laws (Search and Surveillance Bill, Suppression of Evidence report). This time it’s the turn of the Official Information Act 1982. Their work is at a very early stage – they’re canvassing views in an attempt to come up with an issues paper to guide further discussion.
Continue reading Law Commission to Review Official Information Act
All we need to do is filter the Internet
Compare:
Judge David Harvey told the seminar that internet providers (ISPs) should be set up specifically to block suppressed information and issue “take-down” notices to those who had posted it. “Internet content can in fact be managed and controlled. It is a question … of how far we want to go to do that.”
‘Alliance’ needed to enforce name suppression online, Stuff.co.nz
And contrast:
Seeking to deny the protesters a chance to reassert their voice, authorities slowed Internet connections to a crawl in the capital, Tehran. For some periods on Sunday, Web access was completely shut down — a tactic that was also used before last month’s demonstration.
Iran chokes off Internet on eve of student rallies, Yahoo News
R v Internet – Final Panel
Sinead Boucher – Group Online Editor, Fairfax
Everything’s changing very, very fast, no sooner do they get a handle on something then they have to rethink it. What we discuss today might be obsolete in another year.
Last year they had a talk about social media and didn’t even mention Twitter in their meeting. Now Twitter is changing everything, news goes out instantly – and then half an hour later the judge suppresses the information.
Continue reading R v Internet – Final Panel
R v Internet – Third Session
Law Commission Review of Suppression
Warren Young, Deputy President of the Law Commission, started off the afternoon sessions by talking about the Law Commission’s Suppressing Names and Evidence report (PDF).
General principles:
- Open justice unless this would result in injustice.
- Bill of Rights Act – freedom of expression. But reasonable limits as can be justified in a free and democratic society.
R v Internet – Panel
R v Internet – Reality Intrudes
After the morning tea break we came back to a panel discussion on the issues of contempt.
Steven Price (media law expert) started off with a list of points and was a breath of fresh air. It was great to see him state that once the information has got out, it can’t be stopped.
Continue reading R v Internet – Panel
R vs Internet – First Session
I’m at the R v Internet seminar in Wellington today. As some of the issues discussed are quite important in terms of Tech Liberty (right to a fair trial, Internet censorship, freedom of speech) I’ll be giving a brief write-up of the event.
The Old Guard
So far we have heard from the Attorney General Chris Finlayson, Law Professor Tony Smith from VUW and the Solicitor General, David Collins.
Continue reading R vs Internet – First Session
Search and Surveillance Act Threatens Privacy
The Search and Surveillance Bill currently under consideration by Parliament is an attempt to create a unified law for all government agencies. These powers are currently defined, differently, in over 70 different acts ranging from the Crimes Act to the Meat Board Act.
The stated intention of the bill is to “reform the law to provide a coherent, consistent and certain approach in balancing the complementary values of law enforcement and human rights” while “[providing] for the appropriate legislative powers to enable law enforcement and regulatory agencies to extract electronic information and use surveillance devices in order to investigate and combat criminal activity”.
Continue reading Search and Surveillance Act Threatens Privacy
The Problem
- The government believes it has the power to intercept, search and block our communications – if they’re done over the Internet.
- The media companies want to ignore the right to a fair trial and skip straight to the punishment phase – if you download music files instead of copying a CD.
- Border agencies and the Police believe they have a right to unlimited access to your private data – but only if it’s on computer, not on paper.
- The government wants to be able to punish others by disconnecting them from the Internet – but we wouldn’t ban people from using paper and pen.
There are those who think that they can ignore our existing rights and freedoms because new technology has made them obsolete.
We don’t agree.