Kiwi ISP Already Disconnecting Alleged Pirates
Written by Ben Jones on March 18, 2009The controversial ‘Section 92a’ law is looking increasingly uncertain in New Zealand. Following a breakdown in talks it’s been revealed that one ISP has already implemented a version of it, and may have already threatened innocent customers after allegations from copyright holders.
The entertainment industry has lobbied extensively for a “guilty on accusation” process for years now. Last year they had a breakthrough when New Zealand enacted the first such law, commonly referred to as Section92. It went largely unnoticed until the media picked it up last year, but it quickly spawned a lobby group of its own.
Around the same time there was an election in New Zealand and a major change in government, with the then-ruling Labour Party losing out to the National Party. One of those losers was the bill’s champion, Judith Tizard.
With a change of government comes a change in views, and late last month New Zealand Prime Minister John Key announced that the law would be delayed until a workable solution is found.
For many thousands of Kiwi’s, however, disconnection upon accusation is already a reality. One ISP, WorldXChange, has already implemented a Secton92-esque policy for its customer base; one it claims might actually be more draconian.
According to the New Zealand Herald, WorldXChange, which has approximately 20,000 customers, has already initiated their own version of ‘3 strikes and you’re out”. The Herald spoke with a WorldXChange customer who said their connection was terminated last year after an allegation of copyright infringement was made to Xnet (WorldXChange’s broadband service). After contacting customer services, they learned that their connection had been terminated because the ISP had received an allegation that the customer’s IP was linked to file-sharing that infringed copyright.
“They said that they’d reinstate my Internet, but that if they got one more [accusation] it would be cut off permanently – two strikes, you are out.”
A spokesperson for WorldXChange confirmed that such a policy was in place, but said it was 3 strikes, not 2. However, WorldXChange will not be terminating commercial customers in this manner, only residential ones – undoubtedly because residential customers are less likely to sue WorldXChange than a commercial concern, who could easily have their business turned upside down by an unwarranted disconnection.
It might be a a different story if media-groups (and their enforcement contractors) could be trusted to make accurate, well researched claims when it comes to allegations of infringement, but we all know that is not always the case.
Meanwhile, the debate amongst other NZ ISPs has stalled with the withdrawal of TelstraClear (NZ’s second biggest telecom company) from talks regarding Section92, stating it doesn’t want to harm customers. The law has generated intense debate all over New Zealand and now has an uncertain future. If the law is repealed, or struck down though, it is entirely possible that Xnet’s policy will stay in effect, at least until the sound of customers flocking to their competitors – voluntarily or after being ‘terminated’ – gets too much to bear.
On a lighter note though, WorldXChange does seem to have mastered irony. WorldXChange states on the ‘about us‘ section of their website “To us, the key stakeholders are our customers”. Meanwhile Xnet has a package aimed squarely at bandwidth-hungry BitTorrent users.
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54 Responses
pwned
I’d suggest the customer make contact with EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) [eff.org] and see how they might actively pursue the matter legally with both the ISP and the “accuser.”
Right wing nationalists are against draconian laws and the Left wing Labour party are for them? is it something to do with being on the upside down bit of the globe?
@ the.dwarfer
It’s all about the money, my friend…
1. Money: Rights-holders want infinite rights protection with criminal penalties and are throwing money at it.
2. Money: ISP’s want to service customers with as little hardware/firmware as possible. Uploaders consume bandwith so they’re persona non grata.
3. Money: Content providers want the bandwidth cleared for subscription and pay-per-view services.
In short, the Internet has not been the money maker that big-biz had hoped so they’re “molding” it into a one-way street.
Remember Ganghi:
“First they ignore you,
Then they ridicule you,
They they fight you,
Then you win.”
Resist ACTA.
i wonder what the Moriori think of this. i didn’t know that ip laws were at there harts
STOP ACTA!
Unreal, I would sign up for the HSI torrent package right away, wouldnt you?
BOOM
um mister prime minmister all the isps are out of business
we no longer have an internet
good laughs evilly
OH wait how do we tell them anything now
This is good news. It’s about time one of these countries started putting its money where its mouth is.
Let the fun begin… :)
Obvious proof that the land of the Kiwis must be annexed to Her Majesties United Kingdom, soon to be dubbed the United Kingdom of Great Britain New Zealand and Northern Ireland.
You know your laws are buggered to hell when you have more rights on the internet than the British.
Sure would be interesting if someone impersonated a record company and began sending letters accusing a major company’s IP’s of piracy.
Maybe when major companies are inconvenienced, they might sick a few lawyers on these ISP’s.
Another reason why I will never buy CD’s and such again. At least, not from the mediaffia. Many independent record companies are still worthy.
3 strikes law makes perfect sense:
Phase 1: ISP attracts customers
Phase 2: ISP identifies “pirates”
Phase 3: ISP applies 3 strikes law
Phase 4: ISP loses customers & money
Phase 5: ISP files for bankruptcy
Phase 6: ???
Phase 7: Profit!
World exchange are a terrible ISP anyway, theyu throttle the torrent plan soooooo bad you onloud be lucky to get over 20KB/s
Not to mention they accused me once, I belive I toold them where they could shove their crappy packet dropping network, and went beack to my favorite, telstra
If MPAA, RIAA, IFPI want their money, why don’t they go after
the content providers.
Comcast gets about $1000
a year from me.
I consider that a licencing fee.
Go after the profits IPs are raking in. If they didn’t provide a service, I’d go somewhere else.
no
how about pig meat in there face
Sweet just download at work and no probs!
Instead of worrying the company can get in trouble from your actions.. your protected! Nice!
Time to set up a downloader box at work, woot woot!
This is really bad business strategy for that ISP. That is all that needs to be said.
Why not just throw your shoes at these crazy politicians?
It’s even more ironic that Xnet doesn’t even have the bandwidth to support their torrent plan either.
They’re a second rate ISP.
Blah – except then the IP(s) will get onto the dreaded bluetack blocklists, as happened when someone decided to do as you suggested, and they worked at ESET.
Yes WorldXChanges Torrent plan is horrible. I used to be on it but then I went back to the draconian “pay per MB” alternative.
A mere ADSL1 plan with 75GB of data usage will cost you $126.75. But if they think they are smart in doing this they will soon change their mind. Their Torrent plan put alot of people off WXC. And if they send me one of these I will dispute it. If that fails I will say that they have to 2 options, either they remove the warning or I disconnect from them and pay someone else.
I do not see how this can do them any good. As it is most likely going to be power users+ who will recommend an isp over another isp.
Right now, TelstraClear probably feels like sending WorldXChange a basket of flowers.
Oh hello, switching customers :D
“Meanwhile, the debate amongst other NZ ISPs has stalled with the withdrawal of TelstraClear (NZ’s second biggest telecom company) from talks regarding Section92, stating it doesn’t want to harm customers.”
Wow, a company which protects it’s customers from the MAFIAA? Good for them!
I like how everyone brings up the word accused these days. Guess what, you got accused for a reason. And you know why. And you’re not willing to stand up and say “No i didn’t” because you did. So what’s your first reflex… “you don’t have the right to accuse me of that!” We all need to grow up and realise…
DL copyrighted material is WRONG!
Sico, DL copyrighted material is RIGHT. No one can stop it, just roll over and play dead now.
i live in this shithole cuntry >.<
I’m on Xnet’s Torrent plan and my data is not throttled.
Not sure what these guys are talking about.
Dang, poor pirates just cant get a break can they! keepin if free folks!
http://www.online-privacy.pro.tc
So many people have been suckered that is not funny.
Remember when that person died because their power was cut off? Well after the hooplah about that, the TCF (basically the large ISP club) decided to make a “Disconnection” Policy.
In that policy the ISP’s reserved the right to disconnect any user, without notice, if the ISP “reasonably deems” that the user is doing something “illegal” or if the “account status” indicates “unusually high” usage.
This was BEFORE the new “law” (which a plain reading proves is unenforceable: What is the penalty for ignoring it? Nothing, according to the law.) and is far more draconian.
This is not guilt on accusation, it is guilt BEFORE accusation. But nobody in the media pointed that out! In fact ALL ISP’s have ALWAYS had a “your use can be disconnected at any time at our discretion” clause.
The law is phony and is simply there to give the RIANZ and ISP’s cover for what THEY are doing.
http://www.tcf.org.nz/content/6399c632-f5c1-4a4b-9ccd-46c95be72cc1.html
Guess who is a member of TCF? OMG its WorldXChange! Surprise!
AHAH Sorry bout that, I was sent a link to this page and didnt notice it was an international site.
You can safely ignore the part about the person dying, basically that was to date it. The policy I refer to was formed in late 2007 and ratified in early 2008, before this law change.
Slingshot.co.nz have the best rates for torrent users in NZ. Free off peak, between 1am and 7am unlimited data. Normal data is $40 for 50Gb and data you buy rolls over from month to month.
They also have a DSL only package but no data roll over or free off peak :(
Pity their customer service phone line is rubbish to say the least.
WorldXChange are a waste of time.
“With a change of government comes a change in views”
Bzzzzt, WRONG! National voted for this crap law too. They only changed their minds once people started complaining. Both major parties are quite happily in the pockets of the media companies.
@25 (sico) “I like how everyone brings up the word accused these days. Guess what, you got accused for a reason.”
Yes, often sloppy investigative practices. Might I remind you that in the past wireless routers, printers, and dead people have been accused, don’t know about you, but I REALLY think they didn’t do it. They got accused for a reason – shoddy, unverified, unaudited collection procedures.
Then there’s the lawyers int he UK threatening several thousand people for allegedly filesharing, using an evidence collection company (Logistep) that has had its evidence ruled inadmissable in the company’s home country (Switzerland). Might be the reason the lawyers are so reluctant to take ANY such case to court (unless they know they’re getting a default judgement)
Lets try and stick to facts, eh.
WXC are crap. Their off peak plan is crap and dies dead on the nail at 2am (granted what would you expect).
If it wasn’t for my apathy at moving I’d be gone, so if tehy serve me with such a notice they are actually doing me a favour by motivating me to move on!
As for TelstraClear .. glad to see somebody has balls and incentivises me to consider them as a supplier (a shams that Australians have to stand up for NZ’ers rights!).
WorldeXchange has been doing this for years
The bullshit part is where they tell you to contact the company which claims you are infringing. I’ve yet to hear anyone actually get a reply from said company (myself included), and yet Xnet would not dismiss the black mark from your account.. useless
Damn this article is funnay. Telstra is an Aussie telco that operates as TelstraClear in NZ … over here Telstra is known for it’s woeful pricing policy and corrupt practices and is thus avoided by many users with a clue and yet here we have people singing it’s praises, ROFL. Damn wierd country down there :P
“In fact ALL ISP’s have ALWAYS had a “your use can be disconnected at any time at our discretion””
Whoa, so goddamn what – that’s the case in AU and I’d venture a guess that’s the case the world over.
Telstra is my new best friend!, American New World Order Fascists will try and force alot more of this SHITE on us before the battle is won.
We just need to keep John Key honest,big ask i know…he will be the 1st!
The only time I would accept a ISP disconnecting me is when they can be held responsible for disconnecting me.
At the moment there is almost nothing a customer can do if a ISP decides to disconnect you without spending money to drag them through the courts, which is what they are relying on and why they dont disconnect commercial customers.
I wonder if this could be used to get out of contracts that otherwise would end in a year or so.
perfect solution to get out of contracts before the contracted time is over. download copyrighted stuff, tell them, get strikes, and get out of the contract easy. =)
There will allways be other ISPs that like to catch all this new customers.
“Telstra is known for it’s woeful pricing policy and corrupt practices and is thus avoided by many users with a clue and yet here we have people singing it’s praises, ROFL.”
LMAO.
Small wonder that people are singing Telstra’s praises, considering that it refuses to be the MAFIAA’s butt buddy and disconnect its own customers based on accusations coming from a group of people whose evidence collection is so faulty they’ve been known to accuse inanimate objects and the deceased of comitting copyright infringement.
This is in comparison to WorldXChange, who hopped into bed with the MAFIAA at the first possible chance.
If you think there’s something wrong with giving praise where praise is due, then you need to lay off the happy pills.
“Small wonder that people are singing Telstra’s praises, considering that it refuses to be the MAFIAA’s butt buddy and disconnect its own customers based on accusations coming from a group of people whose evidence collection is so faulty they’ve been known to accuse inanimate objects and the deceased of comitting copyright infringement.
This is in comparison to WorldXChange, who hopped into bed with the MAFIAA at the first possible chance.
If you think there’s something wrong with giving praise where praise is due, then you need to lay off the happy pills.”
Actually, and I should have made it clearer – I was referring to Telstra practices in Australia.
It still very surprising to me – especially as Telsta is half-owner of Foxtel (Australia’s only pay TV network) but your right, praise is due when it’s due, they made the right decision.
So the trouble for the morons who use torrents continues and Usenet users blissfully keep on downloading with no possible threat of disconnection, faster speeds and more content.
In other words people that torrent are amatuer retards who complain loudly bu refuse to acknowledge that their system is just juvenile and retarded and allows them to be caught by authorities.
LOL! xD
not cool torrentfreak,
“WorldXChange states on the ‘about us‘ section of their website “To us, the key stakeholders are our customers”. Meanwhile Xnet has a package aimed squarely at bandwidth-hungry BitTorrent users. ”
there are two entirely different entities, not conflicting views
All this will do is loose WorldXChange money as pirates move to other ISPs which don’t do this shit.
It’s worse over here in the UK, this has been going on over here for over a year now on all the ISPs and they never seem to get the right people even!
boo hoo hoo – If people don’t like move, Simple choice.
Unless it costs you $300 to disconnect from your current isp and reconnect to another.
Interestingly, I have a friend who works there, and the people who work at worldXChange have a server filled with ‘illegally obtained files from bittorrent’ amounting to several terabytes. So they’re total hypocrites.
there’s no way they’ll pass this as law. It will put the ISP’s out of business plus who is gona police it?? It’ll cost millions just to keep an eye on all your torrents!!
Wow. I’m so happy. I used to be on an XNet torrent deal (cause I never had to think about usage etc, it was good but I was using it in part for copyright material). I thought that they would be the BIGGEST opposers to section 92, I mean they have plans that are basically aimed for just that! When I moved out of that flat I got a TelstraClear connection, how fortunate! :D.
@44 WorldXChange and XNet are not two completely different entities. An XNet billpayer pays WorldXChange Communications (not XNet), I know this cause I payed this bill. Thus I think the articles statement is fair.
@47 Their disconnection fee is not very big. Think it’s like 100$ – 10$ per month you were on the plan. Would be the connection fees that would get you. Still, much better to change plan I would say. They also really did throttle the hell out of the speeds on their plan xD.
@25(Sico) Regardless of whether piracy is “good” or “bad” you’re still missing the fundamental problem with this law. The new law puts the onus on the accused to prove their innocence and in doing so goes against the basis of New Zealand’s legal system (and that of most of the western world).
Its funny how the article differentiates between the Labour and National parties but when the bill was passed over a year ago the only parties to vote against it were the Greens and the Maori party. John Keys little intervention in February was just a token effort to avoid political suicide.
Always you can start using TOR.
FFS I live in a NZ flat with 4 other guys who are all over 20 and they cut my internet off on Saturday night because someone allegedly downloaded “Madagasgar 2″ What the fuck why would any adult male download madagascar 2. I’m getting the fuck off this rude cunt of an ISP…
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