The UK Times Online reported a new bill attempting to get past in the UK legislature will legally require ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to cut users off from the internet if they are suspected of illegal downloading music. Essentially it follows a three strikes you’re out mentality with users suspected of wrongly downloading films or music will receive a warning e-mail for the first offense, a suspension for the second infringement and the termination of their internet contract if caught a third time.
Did you catch the error in logic?
“users suspected of wrongly downloading films or music” Suspected. What happened to innocent until proved guilty? Also, how will the ISP know I am downloading an MP3 illegally, or downloading it from iTunes unless they examine my packets. And if they do, does that ring the death knell for online privacy.
The bill goes further to make ISPs who do not enforce these rules to be open to prosecution. The government in the UK is still deciding if ISPs should be required to share information with other ISPs.
There are two sticking points, the first is wi-fi piggy backing, where someone jumps onto your wireless connection and downloads using your bandwidth, the other is how fast ISPs need to respond to infractions.
Roz Groome, vice-president of antipiracy at NBC Universal said “We call upon ISPs to take action now. They must play their part in the fight against online piracy and work with rights owners to ensure that ISPs’ customers do not use their services for illegal activity.”
I understand the logic. ISPs are unwitting participants in a crime, they can mitigate that, so this law would force them into action. I would like to propose some other calls for action.
- I would like to call upon on all car manufactures to stop making cars that can exceed any posted speed limit. In Canada that is 110km/h, in the US I think it is 75 miles/hour. It is ridiculous to make a sports car that can go 220 km/h when no one can ever legally drive that fast.
- I would like to call on all standing armies to be responsible for their own arms. So when the conflict is over the army that put down the land mines should need to clean them up, they should also need to pay for the disarmament and disposal of any unexploded ordinance.
- I would like manufacturers of unhealthy foods to pay a “fat tax” to help pay for the additional health care costs their products cause.
- I would like to call on gun manufacturers to be responsible that their customers do not use the guns in any illegal activities and if they do, for those gun manufacturers to be held criminally liable.
What other things could we extend the same logic to?
I don’t see anything particularly wrong with the UK proposal.
Unless you also object the method of deducting points off drivers for speeding and careless driving.
You missed the point, by all means penalize downloaders. But I don’t think you can make ISPs responsible for them. You can deduct point off for speeding, but you can’t penalize Ford for making a car that can go so fast.