Stupid Copyright Law Snags Stupid Kiwi MP Who Passed It?

Recently, New Zealand, in the midst of a serious crisis, did what dimwit politicians always do when there’s an unpopular law they want to pass, and stuck it in a vital piece of legislation, in this case Christchurch earthquake relief.

The law is a controversial “three-strikes” law, which says if you’re “suspected” of sharing copyrighted material three times, you get fined and lose Internet access for six months. The actual population of New Zealand was less than enthused about this, and protested, thus tabling the law until somebody decided to sneak it in without debate, because that’s what democracies do!

Which brings us to Melissa Lee, who discovered the hard way that the law she spoke out for is idiotic when she happened to tweet that a friend gave her a compilation of Korean pop on Twitter. OOPS! Strike one!

Lee then showed she didn’t understand her own law by insisting the songs were legally paid for by her friend. As you might have guessed, that doesn’t actually matter under the wording of the law: she’s still in trouble.

In short, she had no understanding of the law she helped pass, so her choices are hypocrite or moron. Or, you know, both.

[ via the schadenfreude lovers at TorrentFreak ]