ISPs are not police - and don't want to be

Written by Forum Editor Wednesday, 17 June 2009 00:11

Two more examples today of big media attempting to get ISPs to do their work for them.

First, from the UK, where the head of Kudos Film and Television has called for ISPs to actively police their users for piracy, first warning, then cutting off their connections for repeated infringement.

This is exactly the kind of legislation that France attempted to introduce, only to have the new laws overturned by the supreme court, citing internet access as a basic human right and the laws therefore unconstitutional.

And in Australia, ISP iinet has been forced to hand over the records of 20 customers as an example of their supposed negligence. Anti-piracy group AFACT has been facing off against iinet in court recently in an attempt to get the ISP to actively police against piracy, a move the ISP has been resisting.

It continues to be the case that anti-piracy and media companies alike continue to mis-represent the effect of piracy on their business in order to maintain their stranglehold on their respective industries.

As has been stated many times in the past, rather than suing their customer base, the music and film industry would be better served by engaging with their customers by embracing and monetising new methods of distribution.