Australia’s Pirate Party is all about freedom on the internet, so needless to say, they’re pretty upset that Attorney-General George Brandis is considering blocking sites as part of his plan to stem piracy in Australia. So much so that it’s gearing up to present a formal petition against it in Parliament.
The Pirate Party is calling on the Senate to reject any proposition that would include enacting graduated “three-strike” systems, while also calling for the rejection of measures that would block websites from Australia.
Tell Brandis what you think about his new #copyright proposal on @Change https://t.co/JJDAdmHpyo #auspol pic.twitter.com/mRp08JLWcI
— Pirate Party AU (@piratepartyau) May 6, 2014
In just a few hours, the petition against Brandis’ copyright measures attracted 2500 signatures, with prominent internet freedom activist, Greens’ Senator Scott Ludlam, casually agreeing on Twitter to present the petition to Parliament once it had been signed.
The government is considering two strategies to stamp out piracy in Australia, each as obnoxious as the last.
The first is implementing controversial “three-strikes” provisions for offenders that would see copyright infringers given three warnings before potential litigation, charges and removal from an ISP is concerned.
The second is blocking pirate sites like The Pirate Bay.
It’s being reported we may see these enacted as early as this week.