By silicon.com, 25 August 2009 15:36
NEWS
Illegal file-sharers could see their internet connection cut off, under new government proposals outlined today.
The plans, announced by Lord Mandelson's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, would see ISPs tasked with suspending internet access for users suspected of copyright infringement.
(Photo credit: mutednarayan via Flickr.com under the following Creative Commons licence)
Head over to ZDNet UK for more on the government's file-sharing proposals.
Comments
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1. karen challinor
"The government has introduced proposals that would see internet users disconnected from their internet connection if they are suspected of illegal file-sharing."
key word "suspected", not proof just suspicion
no longer do you need proof to deny someone access to something they have paid for all you need is suspicion and accusation
habeus corpus is dead, you are presumed guilty until you prove your own innocence at your own expense until the next baseless accusation causes you to use up your own resources defending yourself
so I can accuse my neighbour of stealing my lawnmower, the fact that it is sitting in my garage is immaterial, I don't have to prove theft I merely have to accuse, my neighbour on the other hand is hog tied and barbecued until they can prove they didn't take it, which unless they know where it is is a bit difficult
simply using p2p protocols or visiting certain websites is not proof of illegal file sharing but the government has apparently decided that it is sufficient
welcome to the era of state controlled internet access, enjoy
2. Guy Reynolds
Another 'Guilty until proven innocent' scheme from New Labour.
Apart from ISPs going for soft targets i.e. those who download from clearly identified illegal sources, and even with deep packet inspection, it is highly likely that alot of wholly innocent people are going to have their services cut, and once done I can gaurantee that they will become part of an underclass of people who will difficult if not impossible to obtain internet services from any ISP.
3. Richard Davies
Is it fair to force ISP's to monitor / inspect packets etc. which will not only involve alot of cost to ISP's (probably passed onto all customers), but will also probably mean that everyones packets get inspected.
This is the music industries problem and they are trying to avoid the cost side of things by trying to get / bully others to sort it out for them.
Why don't they spend their own money putting something in place that prevent the piracy in the first place. They could but they don't want to, because it would probably be very un-popular and restrictive and the music industry don't want that to come from them as it could damage their image!!!
Its probably also people in the Music industry that leak alot of music (i.e. the source)!
Lets not also forget that people who really want to pirate music will only find another way. E.g. how will ISP's cut people off if they can't trace packets due to onion skin routing etc.
Also, are the music industry trying to say that all that takes place on Peer-to-Peer sites etc. is piracy! That comes across as a little naive and discriminatory!
4. el lokko
Time we had some fresh people with fresh ideas to really understand what people want and how file sharing is really used...
These are the same politicians that have allowed our manufacturing and R & D base to decline in favour of banks, builders and supermarkets; what vision, what profound thinking.....
5. Daz Hughes
Yet another amazing government plan ?
The ISP's won't fund it. It won't be possible to protect the innocent on a shared connection AND cut the guilty off.
Innocent people will get cut off if there wifi is hacked or their PC gets a bot.
Innocent people will get targeted if they use P2P technologies to transfer legitmate files such as large open-source products because of the way P2P works, it's not going to be easily possible for an ISP to see what/how is downloaded.
No doubt the government will try and spend £5bn on a "illegal file sharing register"...
...and all this while the illegal file sharing goes to their local mobile phone shop and buys a pay-and-go 3G stick and reconnects to the internet.
Sorted ? Not.
6. Mark Hosey
Very unlikely to happen. If it does it will be unenforcable.
7. karen challinor
mark - yes it's unlikely
but if we don't jump up and down about it now then it will go ahead and become a bill and eventually an act of parliament
and unenforceable or no once that happens it's too late to complain and good money will be poured down the drain chasing an unattainable goal, with ever more draconian legislation to tweak the original act in an attempt to make it work
imagine what would have happened if we hadn't jumped up and down about a certain clause in the coroners and justice bill
see what happened because we didn't jump up and down about the ID card act
8. Jane Dunne
I think Mr Hosey has it. This measure, if enacted, would run contrary to EU thinking, as has been demonstrated just across the Channel in France. Mandy needs to ponder that, along the view of the ISPA (ISP Association), which is "disappointed by the proposal to force ISPs to suspend users' accounts. ISPA and consumer groups consider disconnection of users to be a disproportionate response, a view that was recently supported by the European Parliament".
9. Gavin
upon suspicion - what would then constitute suspicion? action of this type and its brethren are eroding the rights we have been handed by our forefathers who fought, died and spent their lives fighting for and today's custodians are handing the fundamental civil rights away like candy to a small group who quite rightly are trying to protect and serve. All is well until the few are or become tyrants.
10. drew stephenson
Mark, Jane, it may be unenforceable but, as Karen suggests, that won't stop this government creating an appallingly written peice of legislation and then creating database after database to track the entire population.
The government doesn't understand the web or its users and is far too open to the lobbying powers of small groups of rich companies.
They have long ago given up serving the public and now serve only those who can afford them.