New Zealand traffic down as "three strikes" copyright law takes effect
Two New Zealand ISPs have reported falling traffic after that nation's controversial new "three strikes" copyright enforcement legislation went into effect at the start of the month. Kiwi Internet users may have been spooked by the threat of fines as high as NZ$15,000.
The New Zealand ISP Orcon has said that international traffic into New Zealand has dropped by about 10 percent since last week. Speaking to to the New Zealand Herald, Orcon's chief executive Scott Bartlett said that peer-to-peer file sharing represents the second-largest source of traffic after video streaming.
TelstraClear, another major New Zealand ISP, has also reported a drop in traffic, although a spokesman said he wasn't sure if it was related to the new copyright law. A third firm, Telecom New Zealand, says it hasn't noticed a drop in traffic.
