The Blog Blackout

This press release has gone out on Scoop:

NZ Political Bloggers To Blackout Websites 23 Feb. In S92a Protest

“On Monday morning bloggers from across the political spectrum will be taking their blogs down in a “blog out” to protest the coming into force on the 28th of S92A of the Copyright Act.

Scores and scores of bloggers will be taking part, including Public Address, Scoop, Kiwiblog, The Standard, No Right Turn, Frog Blog, Whale Oil, Not PC, No Minister, Just Left, The Hand Mirror, Roar Prawn, Policy Net, Kiwi Politico etc etc. Supporters of almost every political party are taking part – National, Labour, Greens, ACT, Alliance, and Libertarianz, as well as non political blogs like the popular Television blog Throng, and the Scoop news site and NZ’s leading technology news community Geekzone.

To say we represent a diverse range of views is putting it mildly. Normally we disagree on everything. Even e=mc^2 can be regarded as a highly debatable proposition on our blogs.

So for us to all unite together, from across the political spectrum, to condemn S92A of the Copyright Act should send a signal as to how bad the law is. A law which can see people lose their Internet access on the basis of unproven allegations should have no place in the New Zealand statute books.

We don’t care who voted for the law in the first place. We just want it stopped. We call on either Parliament to repeal that section or for the Government to delay it from coming into force on 28 February.

The normal content on our blogs will be made inaccessible on Monday morning, and our blogs will refer people to the online petition organized by the Creative Freedom Foundation. “

ENDS

Details on how to blackout your website are here. We’ll have some further info on how to make the rest of your site inaccessible, if you wish to, over the weekend.

If your blog will be joining the blackout on Monday, go to this page and register.