In the UK, a Plan To Criminalize Illegal Downloaders

krou writes "It looks like the launch of the UK Pirate Party came not a moment too soon. The Independent reports that Business Secretary Lord Mandelson is going to take a hard-line stance to preserve copyright after intense lobbying by the music and film industry. 'Under the proposed laws, Ofcom, the industry regulator, would be given powers to require Internet service providers to collect information on those who downloaded pirate material. The data would be anonymous, but serious repeat infringers would be tracked down through their computer ID numbers.' Prospective punishments included restricting internet access, either slowing down an offender's broadband or disconnecting them altogether, and fines up to £50,000. The Pirate Party came out against the scheme, calling it a gross invasion of civil liberties, while Tom Watson, the former minister for digital engagement, spoke out against the move, saying that the government should stop trying criminalize downloaders just so as to 'restore 20th-century incumbents to their position of power,' but should instead be 'coming up with interventions that will nurture 21st-century creative talent.'"

Comments

*sigh*

[tygerstripes]

Illegal != Criminal. There are whole swathes of law which are not "criminal law".

This news is from the 16th

[bheer]

The Reg covered it yesterday and noted that Mandelson denied this report -- given they're due for an election in less than a year I can't believe they'd go out of their way to alienate voters.

Offtopic, British lords are so hilarious. There's a secretary of transport called Lord Adonis. Had to chuckle at that.

Re:Criminalise Illegal Downloaders?

[pjt33]

If you read the page you linked to carefully you will find:

The making, dealing in or use of infringing copies is a criminal offence (s. 107).

This is an example of /. needing a "-1 Factually incorrect" to cancel "+1 Informative" mods.

Re:Mandelson

[Anonymous Coward]

Put slimebag Mandelson into perspective...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/471585.stm
"Mr Mandelson resigned from the Cabinet in December last year after it was revealed he took a secret £373,000 home loan from his ministerial colleague, Geoffrey Robinson, who also resigned over the affair."

Pulled in a few favors and got away with mortgage fraud on the mortgage application form by not declaring the secret loan. Anyone else would be in prison for that fraud.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1210506.stm
"Peter Mandelson and Europe Minister Keith Vaz have been cleared of wrongdoing by the Hammond inquiry into the Hinduja passport affair. The inquiry into the circumstances that led to Mr Mandelson's resignation in January accepted that he had not deliberately lied about making a call to a Home Office minister. Secondly it found there was no connection between the Hindujas' donation to the Dome and their successful applications for citizenship."

Pulled in a few favors, got away with arranging a passport for a Labour donor, whitewashes inquiry into affair.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1205049/Lapping-sun-super-rich-friends--Mandy-man-whos-supposed-running-country.html
Story seems to have been strangely deleted and not in anyone's cache about Mandelson living it up on a rich benefactors behalf.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1207060/Mandelson-met-Gaddafis-son-Corfu-ahead-Lockerbie-bomber-release-talks.html
"Lord Mandelson faces the prospect of a sleaze investigation after he met Colonel Gaddafi's son days before it emerged that the Lockerbie bomber was to be freed."

Now reports that the alleged bomber may be freed on compassionate grounds.

Re:Mandelson

[FourthAge]

Himmler is close, but both I and Mandelson himself think that Stalin's henchman Lavrentiy Beria is a closer fit:

"You're a kind of Trotsky figure," said a fellow guest.

"Oh no," said Lord Mandelson. "I'm far more of a Beria."

Beria is the nasty version of Himmler, as you will find if you read about his activities as Stalin's secret police chief. What sort of man would find a comparison with mass murderers like Trotsky and Beria flattering and amusing? A former member of the Young Communist League, perhaps? But I'm sure he abandoned the Marxist ideology years ago, just like the rest of New Labour. You know, when they became "right wing" like the BBC says. <Hollow Laughter>.

Re:anonymous?

[PeterBrett]

Nothing is more insulting that equating being technically literate with 'defending the anonymity of internet pirates'. What is this? digg? torrentfreak? or 'newsforpirates'?

If you think that's what my objection to this is about, you're a fool suffering under the influence of the well-known fallacy, "The innocent have nothing to fear."

I am not a pirate, yet I oppose this. My main objections to this are:

• Very little if any consideration of how false accusations might occur. At the moment, you might end up getting hauled into court:
  • Because the clock on the ISP's DHCP box was incorrect;
  • Because you were uploading something entirely legitimate which happened to have a filename which looked like it might be unauthorised.
  • Other ways I haven't thought of yet.

  In the legislation as currently proposed, there is no discussion whatsoever of what recourse ISP account holders would have against false accusations.

• No requirement that an ISP account holder is notified promptly of accusations made against them, so that they can preserve evidence of non-infringement. Indeed, there is not even a requirement that an account holder is told what work they are alleged to have illicitly copied or who is asserting the copyright on the work.
• No requirement that civil court-grade evidence is gathered at the time that an accusation of infringement is made. Essentially, any lawsuit brought based on the proposed legislation would be a case of, "He said, she said," without the defendant receiving the benefit of good quality evidence to use in their defence.
• There are several other similar issues.

Support this legislation if you like; I will have no sympathy whatsoever for you if and when you find yourself in court accused of something you didn't do and with no way to mount an effective defence.