OUTLAW radio has some comments on whether a European law ruling may
"overshadow" this proposal:
http://www.out-law.com/page-10331
Matt
On Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:29:05 +0100, Glyn Wintle <[email protected]>
wrote:
Open Rights Group, Which?, talktalk, BT, Consumer Focus and Orange
responding to the governments plans to disconnect users from the
internet because some one has _accused_ them of infringing copyright.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/letters/article6819093.ece
Sir, We agree that the creative industries play an important role in the
UK and understand the challenge that illegal filesharing presents
(letter, Sept 1). We do not condone or encourage such activity, but we
are concerned that the Government’s latest proposals on the "how" to
reduce illegal filesharing are misconceived and threaten broadband
consumers’ rights and the development of new attractive services.
Experience in other countries suggests that pursuing such an approach
can result in significant consumer resistance. Any new policy must be
considered very carefully.
Any decision to move to harsh and punitive measures such as
disconnection must be genuinely underpinned by rigorous and objective
assessment by Ofcom. Consumers must be presumed to be innocent unless
proven guilty. We must avoid an extrajudicial “kangaroo court” process
where evidence is not tested properly and accused broadband users are
denied the right to defend themselves against false accusations. Without
these protections innocent customers will suffer. Any penalty must be
proportionate. Disconnecting users from the internet would place serious
limits on their freedom of expression. Usually, constraints to freedom
of expression are imposed only as the result of custodial sentences, or
incitement to racial hatred, or libel. The proposal that internet
service providers — and by implication broadband customers — should pay
most of the cost of these measures to support the creative industries is
grossly unfair since the vast majority of
consumers do not fileshare illegally. Further, this payment approach
would discourage content industries from developing new services.
We hope that the Government will consider genuinely consumers’ rights in
its endeavours to protect the creative industries.
Charles Dunstone, talktalk
Ian Livingston, BT
Jim Killock, Open Rights Group
Ed Mayo, Consumer Focus
Deborah Prince, Which?
Tom Alexander, Orange UK
-
Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe,
please visit
http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html.
Unofficial list archive:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
--
| Matt Hammond
| Research Engineer, FM&T, BBC, Kingswood Warren, Tadworth, Surrey, UK
| http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/
-
Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please
visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html.
Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
