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Virgin Media To Spy On & Threaten Downloaders
Mike writes "Virgin Media, the UK's largest cable-modem provider, has decided that it will spy on its users to protect record industry profits. Starting next week Virgin Media will send letters to thousands of households where they suspect music is either being downloaded or illegally shared. The campaign is a joint venture between Virgin Media and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which represents the major record labels. The BPI ultimately wants Internet companies to implement a 'three strikes and out' rule to warn and ultimately disconnect the estimated 6.5 million customers whose accounts are (supposedly) used for regular criminal activity. In other words, you download a few songs and they'll come along and cut off the one wire that delivers freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly."
In other words, you download a few songs and they'll come along and cut off the one wire that delivers freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly.
For those who are unclear on the definition of "hyperbole", please read the above quoted sentence.
my belief is that this tactic will work out equally as well as it has in the US and elsewhere. Now... the real issue for me is why do so many of these industry people believe that they can implement a stupid idea better than the last guy?
I thought 007 WAS what the british took for pr0n!
NO SIG
At first, I read "British Pornographic Industry", and I was seriously worried! But its only the music, so I think I'm safe.
Oh no... it's the future.
Don't fucking steal and you'll be all right. And you get 2 free get out of jail cards. Make good use of them all you fucking freeloading, dole-sucking kommies.
'Pirates' support Al Quida'.
Before you know it, they'll need 42 days to sift through your windows DLLs and files. After all, being able to say hundreds of thousands of files and by implication 'this is hard' means a reasonable premise(not). But only to the stupid.
The UK already has enormous monitoring and invasive abuse of its citizens, bad enough before 'companies' start attempting to take the law into their own hands and begin illicit and comprehensive invasion of people's privacy to support their monopoly.
As for Virgin, first we've seen they have an agenda in terms of net neutrality (they don't believe in it), and they also happen to believe in everyone else's rights but not their users, PAYING customers.
I hope they do send out their stupid letters, and I hope the ensuing customer response tells them exactly where to get off, along side the numbers of people leaving the services.
We`re all equal
I'm not sure I believe in this. The ability to create derivative works is not just to protect the value of the intellectual property. It is also to protect the integrity. Think about how horrible it would be if you could take classic films (like Star Wars), and add tons of CG effects, and resell them.
Your ad here. Ask me how!
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/06/09/virgin-media-uk-work.html
I'm pretty sure Cory Doctorow used it first.
No, see, they just cut access, but not the accounts. The billing keeps going, the customers can't log into their banking sites to cancel auto-payments, and they can't cancel their service because you have to log onto virgin's website to request a cancellation form.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!
Yes, The Register had a much more balanced article too
Now, THERE'S a sentence I thought I would never see.