|
Proposed legislation will ban you from the Internet |
|
|
|
Written by Felix Da Silva (fdasilva@bitnip.com)
|
|
Tuesday, 12 February 2008 |
 There's a proposed legislation that will implement a “three strikes” rule in the UK. Under this proposed legislation, if you’re suspected of downloading copyright infringing material for three separate times, British ISPs will be legally required to suspend your access to the Internet.
According to the Times Online, under new legislative proposals to be unveiled next week, Internet service providers (ISPs) will be legally required to take action
against users who access pirated material.
This proposed legislation is very similar to the one proposed in France where the ISPs would have to block a
person’s web access after 3 e-mail warnings.
Users suspected of wrongly downloading films or music will receive a warning
e-mail for the first offence, a suspension for the second infringement and the
termination of their Internet contract if caught a third time, under the most
likely option to emerge from discussions about the new law.
Broadband companies who fail to enforce the “three-strikes” regime would be
prosecuted and suspected customers’ details could be made available to the
courts.
There are so many problems to this legislation that I don't even know where to begin. First of all, there are many ways to avoid being monitored such as encryption which will result in ISP's not being able to prove what is being downloaded.
Secondly, who will do the enforcement? A legislation without enforcement is useless. If the ISPs were forced to do the enforcement, why do they have to carry the extra burden and the possibility of being held liable for not properly enforcing it?
This is very disturbing even to me as someone who values the importance of copyright and the right to enforce it. This proposed legislation feels like the work of US and its large media industry to resist and adapt to the changing market.
One can also use the slippery slope argument to argue that this is only the first step to even more censorship on the Internet. They use copyright as an excuse to stop people from accessing certain information or files for now. Who knows what excuse they'll use in the future to prevent us from accessing other materials.
Enforcement and protection of your rights and other people's rights are very important. However, this is not the way to do it. Putting extra burden on ISPs? Accusing people of copyright violations when they do not have definitive prove? Censoring people from the Internet because of copyright claims?
Seriously, please do not let this pass. Not in France, not in England and certainly not in any other countries.
|
