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ARIA Threatens To Sue Internet Service Providers

Posted by timothy on from the presumption-junction dept.

tymbow writes "It seems that ARIA (The Australian Record Industry Association, like the RIAA) is threatening to sue ISPs who allow the illegal download of copyrighted music. Could this lead to a situation where Australian ISPs are forced to actively censor websites and P2P protocols? What happens to legitimate P2P content like Linux distributions? It will be interesting to see where this goes."

4 of 271 comments (clear)

  1. Might as well sue the telco by mrnick · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Most ISPs don't own their own fiber so it's just as much a farse to sue ISPs as it would be to sue the telco that does own the fiber.

    Nick Powers

    --

    Encryption: I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend your right to encrypt it...
  2. Infinite loop? by CelticWhisper · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What will likely happen is that it'll hang in court forever as arguments over legitimate uses drag out. ISPs will say that there are legitimate uses of P2P protocols, ARIA will argue that intent is still to infringe on copyright, ISPs will counter by demanding proof, ARIA will say there are differences between documented purpose and implied purpose, and it'll just go on and on. And in the end, users will simply use proxies located outside of Australia, or use encrypted transfers. Difficult to stop a ball this size once it's gotten rolling, and it looks like ARIA might be poised to find that one out the hard way.

    --
    Help protect civil rights from abuse by the TSA - visit TSA News Blog.
    http://www.tsanewsblog.com
  3. Re:Answer, more or less. by darkewolf · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The problem, as others in this whole article-thread may have already replied, that what happens when there is legitimate mp3 downloads?

    I 'write' music. I encourage people to download my tracks and distribute them far and wide. I have thrown a few on P2P services for the sake of curiousity.

    Then there are websites about learning languages and so forth. They have legitimate MP3s. Blanket blocking is very short sited.

    --
    "That is not dead which can eternal lie...."
    Nimheil
  4. Re:Punish the act, not the catalyst by arb · · Score: 3, Interesting

    They aren't going to punish the copyright infringers AT ALL.

    In fact they are. If you read the article, you will see that they have gone after the infringers who illegally make the music available for download. They have merely stated that they will not go after the downloaders, but the uploaders are clearly in their sights still.