The Pirate Party Hedged Its Bets On Today’s iiNet Trial

It makes sense that anyone involved (or even anyone with a real interest) in today’s iiNet vs AFACT court ruling would prepare a statement for either outcome. Then, when the victor was announced, they could send the appropriate release. But the Australian Pirate Party was über-keen, sending out a press release for both outcomes just after midnight last night.

The email was as follows:

Hi,

Please find attached two different Press Release regarding the result of the iiNet Trial by the Pirate Party Australia

If a ruling is found in favour of iiNet then ‘iiNet victory.pdf‘ is our chosen press release; if a ruling is found in favour of AFACT then ‘AFACT victory.pdf‘ is our chosen press release.

Even though it seems a little strange to send out at least one press release about a scenario that wouldn’t eventuate, like ex-Giz editor and current Byteside host Seamus Byrne described it, having the choice was kind of like a Choose your own adventure announcement. Which was kind of exciting!

Pirate Party Australia Expresses Dismay Over iiNet Verdict

The Pirate Party Australia expresses its dismay over the verdict delivered today by Justice Cowdroy in the Federal Court. The findings highlight distinct incompatibilities with current copyright and privacy laws in this digital age. Australian laws need to be amended and improved in order to prevent future injustices occurring again, such as this verdict.

“We take it as a signal that current laws are inadequate, and do not represent the realities of the digital environment, or the new way in which we are beginning to relate to information, culture and knowledge. It is unreasonable and infeasible to expect Internet Service Providers to monitor all private communication and become de facto enforcers of copyright.” said Rodney Serkowski, Party Secretary.

He continued “There should be no legal basis or obligation for any ISP to act in the interest of copyright holders, or to expect that they should disconnect any entity upon allegation of infringement, without judicial oversight and due process. Essentially an ISP should be considered similar to the postal service – they simply carry data in the form of packets, and that communication should be considered private.”

The current state of copyright in Australia has been proven unworkable for a modern, digital world. Pirate Party Australia actively pursues reforms to copyright to better suit this ever changing environment.

Spectre of Three Strikes
Senator Conroy has previously indicated that the Australian government seeks to expand the war on sharing, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is currently engaged in secretive negotiations of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ACTA has been shown in leaked documentation to contain requirements that could ultimately lead to ‘graduated response’ or ‘three strikes’ type regulation. Pirate Party Australia completely rejects these kinds of regulation as a reasonable response to internet file sharing.

“The internet has been woven into the everyday lives of Australians. We are dependent on it socially, culturally and economically. It is simply unacceptable to disconnect an entire household from such an important medium of communication, upon often baseless and incorrect allegations from industry-related associations, without due process. An example of the sloppiness of such allegations includes take down notices sent to a network printer at the University of Washington for illicit file sharing.” said Rodney Serkowski, Party Secretary.

It would place a regulatory burden on Internet Service Providers, meaning increased costs for consumers, and in many respects is simply not feasible without gross violations of privacy.

Moves to ‘Three Strikes’ type regulations will likely mean that in an attempt to either keep their communications private or to avoid detection, many people will turn to encryption. Law enforcement agencies in Britain have stated that such regulation would subsequently increase costs of prosecution and make investigation more difficult.

“The use of a ‘graduated response’ or ‘three strikes’ technique to lower piracy rates is flawed. Disconnecting an entire household for often unprovable claims without a fair trial is not what I’d consider to be representative of a democratic and just society.” said David Crafti, President.

A ‘graduated response’ mechanism is a threat to the privacy of every Australian. Pirate Party Australia is entirely against the implementation of such a scheme and welcomes the public to join us against any development of such legislation.

Pirate Party Australia Welcomes Decision in iiNet Trial

The Pirate Party Australia welcomes the decision of Justice Cowdroy in the Federal Court today, and whilst AFACT will most probably appeal this decision, we take it as a victory for common sense.

“This is a good decision by Justice Cowdroy, and reflects that there is no legal basis or obligation for any ISP to act in the interest of copyright holders, or to expect that they should disconnect any entity upon allegation of infringement without judicial oversight and due process. Essentially an ISP should be considered similar to the postal service – they simply carry data in the form of packets, and that communication should be considered private.” said Rodney Serkowski, Party Secretary.

He continued “We still believe that reforms of the Copyright Act are necessary in order to make them more representative of the realities of the digital paradigm, and better reflect the way in which we relate to information, culture and knowledge.”

While this judgment may be a step in the right direction for the rights of Australians, there is still further work to be done in regards to preventing further injustices from occurring in regards to data security and cases involving file sharing.

Spectre of Three Strikes
Senator Conroy has previously indicated that the Australian government seeks to expand the war on sharing, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is currently engaged in secretive negotiations of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ACTA has been shown in leaked documentation to contain requirements that could ultimately lead to ‘graduated response’ or ‘three strikes’ type regulation. Pirate Party Australia completely rejects these kinds of regulation as a reasonable response to internet file sharing.

“The internet has been woven into the everyday lives of Australians. We are dependent on it socially, culturally and economically. It is simply unacceptable to disconnect an entire household from such an important medium of communication, upon often baseless and incorrect allegations from industry-related associations, without due process. An example of the sloppiness of such allegations includes take down notices sent to a network printer at the University of Washington for illicit file sharing.” said Rodney Serkowski, Party Secretary.

It would place a regulatory burden on Internet Service Providers, meaning increased costs for consumers, and in many respects is simply not feasible without gross violations of privacy.

Moves to ‘Three Strikes’ type regulations will likely mean that in an attempt to either keep their communications private or to avoid detection, many people will turn to encryption. Law enforcement agencies in Britain have stated that such regulation would subsequently increase costs of prosecution and make investigation more difficult.

“The use of a ‘graduated response’ or ‘three strikes’ technique to lower piracy rates is flawed. Disconnecting an entire household for often unprovable claims without a fair trial is not what I’d consider to be representative of a democratic and just society.” said David Crafti, President.

A ‘graduated response’ mechanism is a threat to the privacy of every Australian. Pirate Party Australia is entirely against the implementation of such a scheme and welcomes the public to join us against any development of such legislation.