People who illegally download films and music in Britain will be cut off from the internet 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
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. The Government has yet to decide if information on offenders should be shared between ISPs.
International action in the US and France, which is implementing its own “three-strikes” regime, has increased the pressure on British internet companies and stiffened the Government’s resolve.
I've heard all the arguments about the high prices people have to pay for CDs and DVDs and how the stars and artists are grossly overpaid. In my book, these arguments still don't justify what tantamount's to stealing. Not only are these people draining the music and film industry resources, they also take up other users bandwidth slowing down access for legitimate Internet surfing.
One of the downsides is, that there may well be innocent users who are having their access stolen via “wi-fi piggybacking”. These people could get cut off through no fault of their own.
1 comment:
I don't mind the concept Keith, but there's one bit that disturbs me, and I'll quote you. "Users suspected of wrongly downloading films or music will receive a warning e-mail for the first offence, a suspension..."
It's the suspected bit that bothers me. The British legal system might have its flaws, but we still work on the concept of proof rather than suspicion. If these downloads can be proven, then fine - withhold the service. If it's only suspicion then I'm not comfortable with people being denied service.
As to stealing stuff on the net - you're right. The scandalous way that consumers have been bent over for years over media pricing is an explanation but not a defence. That said, the one that does get my goat is BBC programming. Why should I paying thirty five quid a time to buy a series of Blakes Seven or Life on Mars, or fifteen quid to buy the new production of Sense and Sensibility when I sodding well footed the production costs in the first place? Mad.
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