Based on experience
St Neots, Cambs
Business Secretary Peter Mandelson confirms the state will intervene to stamp out illegal file sharing
The Government has confirmed a strict new policy of cutting off persistent file sharers from the internet.
Business Secretary Lord Mandleson announced today at the C&binet creative industries conference that the worst offenders will be given two warning letters, and following that it would look to suspend that person's account. The news confirms recent speculation that Mandelson's department would be looking to impose such a policy.
The Labour peer said the state would be looking to work with internet service providers (ISPs) in order to curb file sharing, though ultimately it would have reserve powers to issue an order requiring them to 'invoke technical measures'.
“It’s clear that whilst unlawful file-sharing excites a strong response from all sides, it is not a victimless act. It is a genuine threat to our creative industries. The creative sector has faced challenges to protected formats before. But the threat faced today from online infringement, particularly unlawful file-sharing, is of a different scale altogether. We cannot sit back and do nothing."
He did however insist that cutting people off would be a last resort.
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“Only persistent rule breakers would be affected - and there would be an independent, clear and easy appeals process to ensure that the correct infringer is penalised.”
This stinks. The Internet was created to give freedom of access to everyone anywhere in the world. If companies or businesses feel that they are being exploited in some way (oh the irony) they should do something about it but if a government starts to say who can do what and impose restrictions then that is all wrong and smacks of a BIG BROTHER move by the government to control the people. Keep the web free from government control or loose it. It's as simple as that.
Asking ISPs to police the Internet is like asking the Highways Agency to take responsibility for all of the accidents that happen on the roads. We are no more able to control how people use their connectivity than someone who builds and maintains roads can control the way in which people drive.
Also, while the government’s tough-stance action is clearly motivated by a desire to protect the UK’s vitally important creative industries, many musicians and bands are already embracing the Internet and the massive demand for music downloads will make it difficult to control user behaviour and enforce rules.
We've said more about this subject in an article posted today on our 'opinion' blog site at http://opinion.enta.net/
