Net users face web ban for illegal downloads

By zeroday
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Grand Master

zeroday

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Web users who illegally download films and music could be cut off from the internet by their service providers under proposals which are set to be unveiled next week.

The Government wants to force internet service providers (ISPs) to clamp down on the six million people who access pirated material every year as companies are claiming the practice costs them billions of pounds in revenue, it was reported.

Internet users who illegally download music or films will receive an email warning for a first offence, face a suspension for a second offence and have their internet contract terminated for the third offence.

The proposal comes from a Green Paper on the creative industries called The World's Creative Hub, which is due to be unveiled by Culture Secretary Andy Burnham and Gordon Brown next week.

According to the paper the government will 'move to legislate to require internet service provider to take action on illegal file-sharing'.

A consultation document on the proposal is expected to be issued within coming months.

Britain's four biggest internet providers - BT, Virgin Media, Tiscali and Orange - have been in talks with music companies and film distributors and studios about a voluntary code.

One of the disputed points is the problem of 'wifi piggy-backing' - the practice in which someone accesses the internet using another person's wifi network.

But Roz Groome, vice-president of anti-piracy for NBC Universal, welcomed the prospect of legislation.

'We welcome the signal from Government that it values the health of the creative industries and takes seriously the damage caused by widespread online copyright infringement,' she said.

'We call upon ISPs to take action now.'

A spokesman for the Internet Service Providers Association said he hoped a voluntary arrangement would be preferable to legislation.

'Every right thinking body knows that self-regulation is much the better option in these areas,' he told The Times.

And Ed Vaizey, the Conservative's Shadow Arts Minister, said: 'David Cameron called on the internet providers to address this issue last summer.

'The credibility of the Government's latest threat is underminded by the fact that ministers have spent so many years dithering on whether to legislate.'

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Grand Master

ShaneSparky_YYZ

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It's not law yet just being brought up and this part should be highlighted in the article, "proposals which are set to be unveiled next week". Hopefully for people in England this won't pass or else your becoming like the US of A ;)

Proficient

James123

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I doubt the ISPs are going to want to cut off about 50% of their user-base. Also, if they cut someone off, what's to stop them just going straight to a different ISP? There's about 1000 of them in the UK.

Sounds a bit stupid, I *need* internet access every day for work so say if the other guys/girls in my flat were to get caught downloading I lose my job... good job government :huh:

Grand Master

Mathachew Veteran

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On the flip side, they're trying to prevent theft, the component driving this suggestion. Theft, not someone downloading copies and copies of free software, but downloading an illegal copy of a file that is simply not theirs to own. On the surface this is a fair action, but in the end I don't see this passing. Still though, if half the people on Comcast in Houston were shut off, I'd have much more bandwidth for my TF2 fragging and web streaming TV shows....

Grand Master

Andre S. Veteran

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Well, that would imply ISPs constantly monitoring your traffic, to see what you download and upload... based on what? Name of the files? Who's going to monitor all that data? Software?

Also, I'm aware that everything I do on the internet can be monitered, but I also know that practically speaking no one really gives a damn except if I engage in mass distribution of movies, etc., and that gives me a comfortable feeling known as privacy.

Mentor

booboo

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lol I've had a brain wave!

I'll download the first 80GB of the internet and everyone else can download as much as they can! and if we work together we can do this!!!

I've already started, I'm starting with the pr0n websites... don't want it all to go to waste

Grand Master

The_Decryptor Veteran

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It shouldn't be up to the ISP's to enforce the law, if the police care about it so much, they should setup their own unit to investigate file sharers (and if it's illegal, the police should file some charges, stop letting the record companies be the law).

Which is why I live in Canada. United States is a country that can have you arrested for farting in your bathtub in Arizona.

Good to know.

The article is about the UK though, you know that, right?

Grand Master

Quillz

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It's not law yet just being brought up and this part should be highlighted in the article, "proposals which are set to be unveiled next week". Hopefully for people in England this won't pass or else your becoming like the US of A ;)

What do you mean by that? I'm pretty sure most ISPs in the USA don't just kick off users for suspicion of accessing pirated material. Like stated earlier, if you think the ISPs will willingly cut off revenue generating consumers, you're crazy.

Grand Master

Quillz

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Which is why I live in Canada. United States is a country that can have you arrested for farting in your bathtub in Arizona.

How typical... Stupid anti-American rants coming from immature little Canadians. :(

Veteran

abecedarian paradoxious

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I thought uploading copyrighted content was illegal too.

All illegal downloads begin with an illegal upload, no?

Why target the downloaders?

Oh well, I'm a stupid American. What do I know?

Well, other than this whole Internet thing was Al Gore's idea.

... or rather he said he took the initiative in creating it.

Grand Master

Kushan

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If it was possible to track the whole of the UK for downloading this content, the RIAA and MPAA would already be doing it and taking everyone to court. THe amount it would cost to upgrade every ISP with equipment, software and manpower in order to pull it off would run into Billions, none of which could be recouped (in fact, money would be lost as less people would pay for the service).

This wont take off at all, so I wouldn't worry about it. A more likely scenario is they'll force ISP's to block websites that distribute this content and that would go down like a lead balloon.

Grand Master

FiB3R

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Which is why I live in Canada. United States is a country that can have you arrested for farting in your bathtub in Arizona.

You live in Canada, because you were born there. (about 8 years ago by all accounts)

Will using encryption do anything to protect our privacy? What lengths are they going to stoop to?

Grand Master

Kushan

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You live in Canada, because you were born there. (about 8 years ago by all accounts)

Will using encryption do anything to protect our privacy? What lengths are they going to stoop to?

Encryption is one way to protect yourself, the likes of Tor is another (Assuming the Government doesn't create a bunch of Tor nodes themselves). Not to mention there are programs like Privoxy that actively block government IP's and anyone else who you don't want tracking you.

EDIT: The point is, there will always be people out there working to stay one step ahead of the likes of the people that would like to track us all.

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