Broadband News

EU against 'three strikes' piracy policy

(14-04-08) - European politicians have voted against government plans to disconnect internet users who repeatedly download illegal files from the internet.

writes Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk

The BBC reported that MEPs had narrowly voted to amend the plans, saying that internet bans conflicted with “civil liberties and human rights”.

The amendment recommends that those downloading illegal files not be criminalised unless they profit from it.

“The vote shows that MEPs want to strike a balance between the interests of rights holders and those of consumers, and that big measures like cutting off internet access shouldn't be used,” a spokeswoman for the European Parliament told the BBC.

A number of European governments including Britain and France had proposed tough legislation to fight online piracy that costs the music and movie industry billions of pounds.

In November last year, France took an initiative to turn ISPs into “internet watchdogs” that gather in formation on repeat offenders and cut their connections if they continue to download illegally. British broadband providers have so far resisted similar plans.

However, the vote doesn’t have any legal power and governments can still adopt their own internal anti-piracy laws.

Michael Phillips, BroadbandChoices.co.uk product director, said: “The issue of copyright and piracy is complicated and needs to be addressed from multiple angles - including working to disconnect the peer-to-peer networks that downloaders use, and working with the industry to permit a higher level of legal file sharing, so that consumers who have bought a tracks legally can put the files on multiple devices if they need to.”

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