In the UK, a Plan To Criminalize Illegal Downloaders 382
krou writes "It looks like the launch of the UK Pirate Party came not a moment too soon. The Independent reports that Business Secretary Lord Mandelson is going to take a hard-line stance to preserve copyright after intense lobbying by the music and film industry. 'Under the proposed laws, Ofcom, the industry regulator, would be given powers to require Internet service providers to collect information on those who downloaded pirate material. The data would be anonymous, but serious repeat infringers would be tracked down through their computer ID numbers.' Prospective punishments included restricting internet access, either slowing down an offender's broadband or disconnecting them altogether, and fines up to £50,000. The Pirate Party came out against the scheme, calling it a gross invasion of civil liberties, while Tom Watson, the former minister for digital engagement, spoke out against the move, saying that the government should stop trying criminalize downloaders just so as to 'restore 20th-century incumbents to their position of power,' but should instead be 'coming up with interventions that will nurture 21st-century creative talent.'"
Copying is stealing (Score:5, Interesting)
Copying is stealing.
The very fact that we're willing to accept that sentence for discussion shows how far things have come. Stop and think about it, taken out of context. How Orwellian it sounds!
Now that every uninformed member of society believes that copying is a criminal act, well of course it should be criminalised. That only makes sense.
I do believe that artists and creators need to be rewarded. But more and more I'm coming around to the notion that we should scrap the whole bloody slab of law that covers IP, and start again with something sensible.
That won't happen of course. It seems that preserving industry and building capital is the single only motivation for existence in this brave new Labour world.
What ever happened to the notion that money is not valuable in and of itself, but only as a means to the ends we choose?
Re:anonymous? (Score:5, Interesting)
The data would be anonymous, but serious repeat infringers would be tracked down through their computer ID numbers.
This must be some definition of the word 'anonymous' that I was not previously aware of.
Yes, quite. The whole thing is pure fascistic lunacy, that appears to have been drawn up by corporate lobbyists and Whitehall bureaucrats with no awareness of either the technical or legal ramifications of what they are doing.
Also, since the rate of progress of technology nowadays is so much faster than big business and government can respond to it, this scheme will be obsolescent by the time that it gets implemented.
I recently wrote [peter-b.co.uk] to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in response to the pre-legislative consultation documents [berr.gov.uk], and I would encourage other technically-literate Brits to do the same.
What about other 'copyright criminals' (Score:5, Interesting)
Like those companies which abuse the GPL and release media STB but not the source code for them? Oh, like Humax for their Foxsat-HDR box as (and I directly quote them) "the consumer can't update the firmware so there is no need to release the source code we use".
Thats just as much a breach of copyright as someone downloading a TV show off a torrent site.
So will Mandelson remove their net connection
uh oh (Score:2, Interesting)
whatever happens in Airstrip One will probably follow here in Oceania
Re:Mandelson (Score:5, Interesting)
Its funny but also somewhat scary you say that, because for years I've thought he not only looked like but also behaved very much like Heinrich Himmler. At times I find Mandelson a truly scary character because he seems to have immense political power behind the scenes. Time and time again he has been linked with corruption. He has even been thrown out of Government twice, yet he is back for a 3rd time and within months of being back, somehow he has one of the most powerful jobs in New Labour. He must have some very powerful friends and considering the speed he has got back to such a powerful position, I wonder if he has also enough dirt on other MPs to blackmail and force himself back into such power. In some ways he is just as manipulative and controlling as Heinrich Himmler was. I think if Mandelson ever got anymore political power, He would create a nightmare country with him at the center of power.
Re:What about other 'copyright criminals' (Score:3, Interesting)
Has this appeared on gpl-violations.org yet? Given that Humax is a German company I'd have thought that Harald Welte would be interested.
Wtf is up with the UK? (Score:2, Interesting)
Im pretty intrigued by all that the UK citizen that seems to put up with this. CCTV at their jobs, parks, roads and even pointing right into their very private homes. Laws demanding handing over encryption keys encriminating themselves, survalliance and secret prisons etc. For being able to monitor illegal downloads they will save ALL traffic that people sends and receives on their computers, not just movies and music but everything at all lika chat etc.
Are people in the UK just fine with this or are the press just ignoring it? Myself i have a hard time understanding how people would just sheeply comply with their overlords and bend over without a fuss. Especially when the powers that be tends to classify more and more about themselves the more they pry into about ther underlings. Things like theese makes the KGB/Stasi etc look pretty lame and innocent.
And how will this be done? (Score:3, Interesting)
Firstly, this sounds like a Daily Mail [wikipedia.org] [wikipedia.org] article, but nevertheless.....
How do the government propose than ISPs determine whether content being downloaded is pirated or not? What is the difference between your browser downloading a copyrighted image on [insert name of favourite photo library site] for viewing and downloading an MP3 file? You and I may both download [copyrightedsong.mp3] but I may have permission from the publisher and you may not. How will the ISPs determine this? What if our connections were encrypted, encoded or used IPv6?
I could go on. And on. And on......
The fact is that apart from monitoring visits to [downloadyourillegalaudiofilesandfilmshere.com], there's absolutely sod all that anybody can do which is even remotely effective.
Now, on the other hand, if the government were brave enough to stand up to the music/film groups and come up with some sensible laws which benefit both the citizens and the music/film groups.... well, if that happend, I'd be living in cloud-cookoo land.
Re:anonymous? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:One in 12 of the population might disagree. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Mandelson (Score:2, Interesting)
Quite. The "man" is a disgrace to the Lords. I wish there were a way to have him kicked out....
Re:Mandelson (Score:2, Interesting)
Actually, I just read through the essay linked at his sig and found it to be measured, intelligent, and well researched with multiple links to sources and extensive explanation and footnoting.
Indeed, I wish that more people would put as much thought and care into their opinions as FourthAge has.
Of course, if you are a proponent of some of the ideologies that he opposes, which, based on your statement it would seem you are, you do yourself no favors by indulging in ad-hominem attacks. It merely shows that you have no substantive argument to make in support of your own ideology and must resort to attacking the messenger to try and silence him. Sad, really.
At any rate, I have "Friended" FourthAge as he is a Slashdot contributor well worth following. I would recommend him to any reader here.
Re:Mandelson (Score:2, Interesting)
The funny thing is that I probably used to be exactly like you. I probably would have agreed with everything you said, and posted a similar flame of someone who disagreed.
Everybody in Britain is a socialist by default, because that faith is preached by the television and the schools. It has been for decades. That is why it is so hard to convince anyone to reassess their faith. And yet, apostates do exist. I am one of them. If I can convince just one British person to start thinking about why people like Mandelson behave as they do, why the media lets them get away with it, and why the country is in such a mess, then I will have succeeded.
US Pirate Party (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Mandelson (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:anonymous? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:anonymous? (Score:3, Interesting)
Nothing is more insulting that equating being technically literate with 'defending the anonymity of internet pirates'.
It's not about defending anonymity of pirates, it's defending of anonymity on the Net in general. Unless you have some magical way of determining which users are pirates and which aren't without getting rid of anonymity for everyone...