Australia’s Copyright Laws have recently been brought under review after the Australian Digital Alliance (ADA) started a campaign to have them altered. This campaign was started as an effort to give Australians the same basic freedoms of the Internet that most people around the world have. As the current copyright laws stand, nearly everything an Australian shares on the Internet is considered illegal. According to section 132A part 2 of the Australian Copyright Act, “distributing an infringing article that prejudicially affects the copyright owner” is against the law. What this means is that millions of Australians are breaking the law every day each time they post or share something on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. that isn’t their original work. For example, if a friend of yours were to post a picture that they took of you and your friends on Facebook, it would be illegal for you to also post it. Even the simple act of creating a meme with a picture that isn’t yours is illegal.
What is even crazier than the copyright laws themselves is the punishment attached with them. Doing something as harmless as sharing a YouTube video could get a person five years in jail and a fine of $93,500. While these penalties are rarely enforced, the fact in the matter is that the law still stands. This is what the ADA is fighting against. If the opportunity to break these copyright laws is so readily available and the government is not going to enforce them, why don’t they just alter the laws to make them fairer? The ADA is looking for a fair use provision to be added to the laws that would allow people to share and copy other people’s works so long as they don’t harm the copyright owner in any way. The Australian government will conclude their review in February and it is widely believed that the ADA may receive their wish.
Below is a link to one of the ADA’s campaign videos that helps breakdown the tricky copyright laws.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhDR1I4DpTo&feature=player_embedded
Posted by Johnny Feery
It is crazy to think that a country would have such severe copyright laws. Sharing other people’s photos on Facebook is a common thing in the U.S. and no one ever considers that it would be a copyright law, because it really isn’t. What the ADA is doing is a smart thing. Even though Australia may not enforce the strict copyright laws, it is for the best that the laws do not exist at all. I would think that the ADA would be able to overturn the laws as they seem ridiculous to have in the Internet age that we are currently in.
As indicate by this blog post, Australia has some extremely intricate copyright laws. As a result of these complex laws, the Australian Digital Alliance has started a campaign to change them and make them more straightforward. The primary purpose of this campaign, along with simplifying the copyright laws, is to give Australians basic Internet freedoms.
Australian law states that any material shared on the Internet is illegal. This is defined based on section 132A part 2 of the copyright act. This law states that an Internet post is illegal. This is because the many Internet posts aren’t original works. Thus making any activity on social media illegal.
What is most astonishing, as mentioned by the blogger, is the penalties people face for violating these copyright acts. For simply expressing themselves and sharing their thought’s people can be fined up to $93,000. Luckily, these copyright laws are never acted upon. However, as mentioned by the blogger, it is wild that these laws still exist. I as an American could never imagine being criminalized for posting on facebook. That is the freest medium for expression and to be charged for copyright sounds comical.
Although these laws are never enforced, they must be changed. They are extremely to vague and haven’t kept up with modern times. These laws must be altered in order to stay steady with current societal trends. I would hate to be the individual that I made an example of in Australia for violating these copyright laws.