13 reasons the Infringing File Sharing Act is bad for you
Many of you have been asking what the big deal is about the new copyright legislation "Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Bill 119-2". Is it a good measure for stopping illegal downloads? Not even close. It's bad for everyone, while having questionable impact on the (supposed) problem. First, in case you missed the news: http://www.3news.co.nz/Govts-Skynet-legislation-becomes-law/tabid/412/articleID/206882/Default.aspx There are so many problems with this law. I've listed thirteen here. There are others more fundamental especially relating to what the law should be expected to achieve: the debate over the intention of copyrights and what should be protected under them, which is a natural consequence of the birth of the information society. But that's a big subject with a lot of history, that I hope to write about some other time. Some reasons are legal , some ethical , and some technical but nonetheless crucial: 1. Presumed guilty on accusation De...