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UK IP Chief Wants ISPs To Police Piracy Proactively

Posted by Soulskill on from the he-believes-in-intellectual-property dept.

An anonymous reader sends this report from TorrentFreak: The UK's top IP advisor has published recommendations on how Internet service providers should deal with online piracy. Among other things, he suggested that Internet services should search for and filter infringing content proactively. According to the report, ISPs have a moral obligation to do more against online piracy. Mike Weatherley, a Conservative MP and Intellectual Property Adviser to UK Prime Minister David Cameron, has pushed various copyright related topics onto the political agenda since early last year. Previously Weatherley suggested that search engines should blacklist pirate sites, kids should be educated on copyright ethics, and that persistent file-sharers should be thrown in jail.

87 comments

  1. Fuck autorefresh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    It is useless and annoying.

    It serves no useful purpose (people can't click the "reload" button?) I suspect loading new ads is the only reason.

    It refreshes while I am trying to read. Annoying.

    I am unfortunate to be in a situation where I have slow/intermittent internet access. Sometimes an autorefresh is unable to load the page at all. I just had a page full to read, and it gets deleted and nothing reloads because the net is out.

    Fuck autorefresh!

    1. Re:Fuck autorefresh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is not useless, as it will cause (re)loads for the advertisement banners. There is no other purpose for that, as nobody will sit and wait on top of page for new items.

    2. Re:Fuck autorefresh by tombeard · · Score: 1

      The UK's top IP advisor has published recommendations on how Internet service providers should deal with online piracy. Among other things, it's suggested that Internet services should search for and filter infringing content proactively. According to the report ISPs have a moral obligation to do more against online piracy.

      uk-flagMike Weatherley, a Conservative MP and Intellectual Property Adviser to UK Prime Minister David Cameron, has pushed various copyright related topics onto the political agenda since early last year.

      Previously Weatherley suggested that search engines should blacklist pirate sites, kids should be educated on copyright ethics, and that persistent file-sharers should be thrown in jail.

      In his latest proposal the UK MP targets information society service providers (ISSPs) including ISPs, who he believes could do more to fight piracy. The just-released 18-page report stresses that these companies have a moral obligation to tackle copyright infringement and can’t stand idly by.

      The report (pdf) draws on input from various pro-copyright groups including the MPAA, BPI, and the Music Publishers Association. It offers various recommendations for the UK Government and the EU Commission to strengthen their anti-piracy policies.

      One of the key points is to motivate Internet services and providers to filter content proactively. According to the report it’s feasible to “filter out infringing content” and to detect online piracy before it spreads.

      The UK Government should review these systems and see what it can do to facilitate cooperation between copyright holders and Internet service providers.

      “There should be an urgent review, by the UK Government, of the various applications and processes that could deliver a robust automated checking process regarding illegal activity being transmitted,” Weatherley advises.

      In a related effort, Weatherley notes that Internet services should not just remove the content they’re asked to, but also police their systems to ensure that similar files are removed, permanently.

      “ISSPs to be more proactive in taking down multiple copies of infringing works, not just the specific case they are notified of,” he recommends.

      “This would mean ISSPs actively taking down multiple copies of the same work which are hosted on its services, not just the individual copy which is subject to the complaint. The MPA believe this principle could be extended further still to ensure that all copies of the infringing work are not just taken down,” Weatherley explains.

      This type of filtering is already used by YouTube, which takes down content based on fingerprint matches. However, the report suggests that regular broadband providers could also filter infringing content.

      Concluding, Weatherley admits that it’s all too easy to simply demand that ISPs take the role of policemen, but at the same time he stresses that they have a “moral responsibility” to do more.

      The UK MP presents an analogy of a landlord whose property is used for illegal activities. The landlord cannot be held liable for these activities, but he may have to take action if a third-party reports it.

      “If the landlord is told that the garage is being used for illegal activity, and that this information is from a totally reliable source, then does the landlord have a moral obligation to report it?”

      “I would argue that it is the duty of every citizen or company to do what they can to stop illegal activity and therefore the answer is, yes, the landlord should report the activity,” Weatherley notes.

      Weatherley also believes that protecting the rights of copyright holders has priority over a “no monitoring” principle that would ensure users’ privacy. That is, if the monitoring is done right.

      “There is also the question as to whether society will want to have their private activities monitored (even if automatic

      --
      The reason we subjugate ourselves to law is to better procure justice. If law does not accomplish this purpose then it m
  2. Seeing as UK police do little else by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    They need to do something. Local bobby on the beat? Gone. Investigate burglaries, assault, vandalism, all on camera - no chance. How about going after someone that said something naughty on twitter, yes, they'll do that. Terrorists out in the open, hate crimes from muslim groups, no fucking chance. They're so lazy today they don't even bother with speed camera behind bus stops.

    Anyone visiting from another country would wonder whether the nation has a police force. They gobble up plenty of money, but what they do for it is anyone's guess.

    1. Re:Seeing as UK police do little else by davester666 · · Score: 5, Funny

      IP is worth approximate a jillion times more than the total value of all physical goods sold for the entire existence of humans on this planet, so yes, it should be the priority of every single human being on the planet to ensure every copy is paid for.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    2. Re:Seeing as UK police do little else by benjfowler · · Score: 3, Funny

      Gotta love "intellectual property" accounting rules.

    3. Re:Seeing as UK police do little else by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      They need to do something. Local bobby on the beat? Gone. Investigate burglaries, assault, vandalism, all on camera - no chance. How about going after someone that said something naughty on twitter, yes, they'll do that. Terrorists out in the open, hate crimes from muslim groups, no fucking chance. They're so lazy today they don't even bother with speed camera behind bus stops.

      Anyone visiting from another country would wonder whether the nation has a police force. They gobble up plenty of money, but what they do for it is anyone's guess.

      It's so true. Basically reporting any crime that isn't worthy will get a default response of "we'll check the cameras and let you know", which is code for "fuck off, you annoying pleb".

      There is an upside to the lack of police on the beat though, at least you're much less likely to be beaten to death by cops in the UK than in the US.

    4. Re:Seeing as UK police do little else by Anonymous+Brave+Guy · · Score: 2

      Now, let's be fair here. Big Media need all the help I can get. I mean, how many movies we think of as blockbusters never actually make a profit?

      --
      If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
    5. Re:Seeing as UK police do little else by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They aren't police anymore, they're just another set of taxmen

  3. Moral obligation? by ashkante · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ISPs have about as much 'moral obligation' to filter pirate content as do power grid companies to filter electricity used for the same. And it's about as hard to implement, I'd imagine.

    1. Re:Moral obligation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      ISPs have just as much moral obligation to filter pirate content as IP holders & lawmakers have moral obligation to make all IP go into the public domain within 5 years.

    2. Re: Moral obligation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly.
      Or as politics just being honest, and quit lobbying

    3. Re:Moral obligation? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      It's a clever plan to drum up business for VPN providers. Between website blockades and spying they are really helping push up subscriber numbers.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    4. Re: Moral obligation? by Dan1701 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Britain is currently about to have a general election, at the start of May. We apologise for the loss of sanity and indeed coherence from our political classes; they are currently competing to see who can be the most entertainingly inventive liars.

      Normal service will be resumed mid-May.

    5. Re: Moral obligation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Britain is currently about to have a general election, at the start of May. We apologise for the loss of sanity and indeed coherence from our political classes; they are currently competing to see who can be the most entertainingly inventive liars.

      Normal service will be resumed mid-May.

      Very much like the US elections then.. the added problem for us Brits is we have to put up with the US elections taking over the news in the same fashion as the UK elections. Fortunately most of us change the channel when either come on TV.

    6. Re: Moral obligation? by PPalmgren · · Score: 2

      Only 1 month? I'm impressed. I wish that kind of malarkey only lasted a month here. Election 'season' starts before half a term is over for our scumbags.

    7. Re: Moral obligation? by camperdave · · Score: 1

      Britain is currently about to have a general election, at the start of May. We apologise for the loss of sanity and indeed coherence from our political classes...

      Put your mind at ease. We have never expected sanity or coherence from the political classes.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    8. Re: Moral obligation? by TheReaperD · · Score: 1

      You'll hear every successful U.S. politician say that they never stop campaigning. The only time that they stop campaigning is when they leave politics altogether (this includes lobbying), die or sometimes the last two years of a two-term president. It's why they almost never do their real job is because they spend their entire careers begging for money from lobbyists to get (re-)elected.

      --
      "Be particularly skeptical when presented with evidence confirming what you already believe." -
  4. Today is NOT Fool's Day! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ah! Ha! It is! April Fool You!

    #2

  5. IP cheif? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What is an IP cheif? Do they assign internet protocol addresses like the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority? Just asking since we are talking about internet service provides, correct?

    1. Re: IP cheif? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Intellectual Property (aka Imaginary Property)

    2. Re:IP cheif? by talis9 · · Score: 1

      When I first looked at it I thought it said "UKIP Chief" and as wondering what Farage was rambling about now

  6. My two cents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    American here.

    I agree that ISPs should monitor our traffic and deal with it appropriately. I agree so much that I think we should extend the idea to traffic on real-life roads. Yes, we should have roads policing us. Not cops, but roads. If a road detects someone doing something criminal (we need to design the right of kind A.I.), we can program it to stick spikes up from itself to stop us.

    1. Re:My two cents by MrL0G1C · · Score: 1

      You should watch what you wish for, it is likely possible to use tech as cheap as bottom of the range smart phones to monitor traffic, detect violations, keep a video snippet, transfer it to some computer which posts the video online and mails you a letter detailing the fine and a link to the video+password. If it'd stop drivers from playing with their phones whilst driving I'd be for it.

      --
      Waterfox - a Firefox fork with legacy extension support, security updates and better privacy by default.
    2. Re:My two cents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I was trying to show how it was a bad idea.

  7. And I want to punch this twit in the face. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I mean... as long as "want" goes!

    1. Re:And I want to punch this twit in the face. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I want a pony!

  8. Piracy will not cease by shihonage · · Score: 2

    ... until software stops being so expensive and TV shows stop being delayed and locked down by DRM. It's that simple. Let me buy a cheap subscription, let me convert it and stream it to any device I own... or bust.

    1. Re:Piracy will not cease by gnasher719 · · Score: 0

      ... until software stops being so expensive and TV shows stop being delayed and locked down by DRM. It's that simple. Let me buy a cheap subscription, let me convert it and stream it to any device I own... or bust.

      That is a blatant lie. Take as evidence iOS jailbreakers who do it so they can download $0.99 apps for free. There are plenty of people who are never going to pay anything if they can get away with it. I don't care what you do, but don't tell us that nonsense about stuff being too expensive.

      If you think for example that a computer game is too expensive and you pirate it, surely you should put the amount that you think is correct in an envelope and send it to the producer of the game? How many people are doing that? Everyone else is just lying.

    2. Re:Piracy will not cease by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      That is a particularly badly thought out response. Of course there will always be people who are prepared to pirate in order to avoid spending $.99, but these people would not have spent the money in the first place, so they are of no consequence. What matters is the people who would pay regularly and substantially but who are so inconvenienced by DRM or who perceive that so much of what they are paying is going straight into the pockets of middlemen that they choose to pirate instead.

      There are lots of pieces of software which are effectively donationware, and if a developer gives an easy method of donating and acknowledges those donations then I will be happy to send a few dollars - indeed, where a developer provides both a Google Play store version and a downloadable APK, I choose to download the latter and then send money e.g. by PayPal to them, because I'll be fucked if I'm going to accept someone taking a 30% cut for payment processing and adding to an automated catalogue. Just because your thought processes are based on regulations rather than values, it doesn't mean that most people choose to offload responsibility like that.

    3. Re:Piracy will not cease by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      OK, where IS that evidence?

      Go on, all you did was tell us to look at it, you never supplied.

      Why not look at the greatest "pirates" were the biggest buyers, or how when the biggest filesharing network was canned, the increase in revenue by the music industry fell into a decline within six months.

      How about we look at that evidence?

      Not to mention the evidence that the "IP industry" have already broken the contract, so I feel no obligation to feel the slightest twinge of guilt at their "loss" even if it killed the entire set of intellectual property and dropped millions into poverty.

    4. Re:Piracy will not cease by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      gnasher719 is a typical moron who blindly spouts crap without any thought because he's a gaping cunt hole. He has no evidence because his entire post was full of shit, much like he is.

    5. Re: Piracy will not cease by thedarb · · Score: 1

      I don't pirate Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Why? Because it's available via an affordable subscription to watch whenever I want. Go Netflix!

      --
      This sig intentionally left blank.
    6. Re:Piracy will not cease by NickFortune · · Score: 2

      Take as evidence iOS jailbreakers who do it so they can download $0.99 apps for free. There are plenty of people who are never going to pay anything if they can get away with it.

      Well sure. On the other hand, look at iTunes. Before iTunes Napster et all were wildly popular. Then Apple starts offering downloads at $0.99 a track and suddenly they're making a ton of money and the music filesharing sites seemed to lose all traction. Lowering the price may not have solved the problem, but it greatly reduced it while creating a revenue stream that wasn't there previously.

      There will always be those who won't pay, granted. With that in mind, the question becomes one of how much do you want to penalise the honest Internet users in the vain pursuit of an unobtainable absolute?

      If you think for example that a computer game is too expensive and you pirate it, surely you should put the amount that you think is correct in an envelope and send it to the producer of the game? How many people are doing that? Everyone else is just lying.

      Well, if someone was to illegally download a game, they'd be foolish to provide paper evidence of the crime, so to that extent I suppose it's understandable. On the other hand, if the game creators established a channel for this to happen safely, they might be surprised. I mean that's the basis on which Humble Bundles operate and I gather they've frequently been quite successful.

      Granted, it's the publisher's decision whether or not to offer work on those terms, but you can't really claim it never happens or that it never works.

      --
      Don't let THEM immanentize the Eschaton!
    7. Re:Piracy will not cease by g0bshiTe · · Score: 1

      Ever buy a cd because you heard a song and liked it? Find out the rest of the cd is crap? Expensive song wasn't it?

      Ever buy a game that didn't live up to it's hype or the hype of reviews? Ever feel robbed by a game company?

      Ever been to a film you walked out in the middle of? Ever feel robbed?

      Pricing is one point of piracy, a customer feeling disenfranchised for having been taken before is another, a small portion of those that pirate could fall into the spectrum of those that will/would never pay for anything.

      Pricing models take into account distribution costs, today distribution of media cannot be as expensive as having to package and truck it somewhere, when you can deliver via download, yet the pricing model doesn't reflect that does it?

      Tell me again why I am paying $60 for a new release on Steam that didn't have to get stamped, packaged, stored and shipped to a store for someone to place on a shelf for me to purchase yet costs the same?

      --
      I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
    8. Re:Piracy will not cease by g0bshiTe · · Score: 1

      I do pirate games, what I do is play it, if I like it I'll purchase it legally, if not I uninstall it delete it and never look back.

      Sometimes I purchase more than my share. I recently gave 3 Steam friends a copy of a game on Steam the game is $30 per copy. I enjoy the title, I think it's a fresh take on a game idea and unlike most of what's out there. They accomplished a lot with a little. So I in essence have shown my support by purchasing 4 copies of the title. If that's not supporting a developer I don't know what is.

      --
      I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
    9. Re:Piracy will not cease by g0bshiTe · · Score: 1

      OP also fails to take into account artists make money from ticket sales of concerts. In the grand scheme is it trivial the concert goer didn't drop $20 on the artists cd, yet never having heard the artist liked them so much they went to see them in concert.

      Or the person that pirates a new release movie and ends up loving it so much from watching it at home they end up going to see it multiple times in the theater.

      --
      I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
    10. Re:Piracy will not cease by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you think for example that a computer game is too expensive and you pirate it, surely you should put the amount that you think is correct in an envelope and send it to the producer of the game? How many people are doing that?

      Wonderful idea, give someone an opportunity to sue you for six figures, tell them about the opportunity, and pay them for it!

      Here is a better story: Gaming piracy has been dropping off the charts over the last fifteen years (aside from military personnel doing it, dirty secret but the average xbox360 at any mil base has dozens to hundreds of burned disks next to it). Know why? People can actually get games how they want it for the price they want it. Humblebundles are very popular and give people the opportunity that you poorly attempted to outline. And of course steam being what it is with their sales helps too.

      The only caveat is this: some AAA games are still being "pirated" because people pay for the real-deal and find out it doesn't work without cracking it anyway. Might as well get the best version of what you paid for.

      And this?

      Take as evidence iOS jailbreakers who do it so they can download $0.99 apps for free.

      Who the fuck does that? What kind of a person has the technical know-how to jailbreak (okay grandpa, "jailbreakers" isn't a word any more than posting on the internet makes you an internetter), chooses to buy an apple product, then risk bricking the $600+ device to save a dollar on pathetic little apps?

    11. Re: Piracy will not cease by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Movie piracy sites are in a similar situation now - rapidly losing users to Netflix and such.

    12. Re:Piracy will not cease by gstoddart · · Score: 2

      Tell me again why I am paying $60 for a new release on Steam that didn't have to get stamped, packaged, stored and shipped to a store for someone to place on a shelf for me to purchase yet costs the same?

      Due to a fiduciary responsibility to maximize shareholder value (and in acknowledgement of the escalating costs of executive bonuses, cocaine, and hookers) to maximize out synergies and leverage existing payment schemes the board has elected to treat virtual goods as costing the same as physical goods.

      The consumer, having been conditioned to expect to pay these prices, will contribute to high-margin sales.

      We disagree with market assessments which indicate that diminishing scarcity should also cause downward pressure on prices, as we feel we would be unable to maintain current levels of executive compensation if we were forced to pursue new revenue models. Instead we will continue with established pricing in order to ensure maximal revenues are accrued.

      Further, pursuant to discussions at the board level, we continue to pursue mechanisms by which consumers^Wrevenue cows will be required to simply remit 25% of their income to us.

      To this end, the fraudulent use of the greatly expanded copyright protection regime will continue to be applied as long as suckers^Wrevenue cows can be coerced into complying.

      Forecast estimates indicate we may need to increase bribed^Whonorariums to lawmakers by a small percentage, but this is expected to be offset by existing revenue bloating^Wmaximizing schemes.

      Short version: greedy fucking douchebags.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    13. Re:Piracy will not cease by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Yes, lots of people aren't going to pay for anything. We shouldn't worry about them, as they were never going to be customers. The important question is not how many people will get illicit copies but how many people will actually pay.

      This turns out to be more complicated than people might think. Some people will buy if they can't copy. Some people will buy only if they can get a free look. Some people will buy only if the DRM isn't too inconvenient. Some people will buy only if they can get a copy with the DRM removed. Some people will copy when they can't buy - and they weren't potential customers either.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  9. Kill him. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    He want's you jailed, murder this son of a bitch.

  10. uk the country of spies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    The people of the UK are the most spied on in the west. Cameras everywhere, GCHQ, grabbing data from everything. Sooner or later they will do too much and it will start to crumble.

  11. Xmod uP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    hand...3on't Has ground to a 200 running NT a fact: FrreBSD for trolls' world's Gay Nigger can no longer be please moderate of America (GNAA) To look into

  12. Copyright ethics, he says? by Stormwatch · · Score: 4, Informative

    To learn about copyright ethics -- that is, how unethical the very concept is -- be sure to read Boldrin & Levine's Against Intellectual Monopoly and Lessig's Free Culture.

    --
    Circumcision is child abuse.
    1. Re:Copyright ethics, he says? by mrtran2710 · · Score: -1, Redundant

      OK, where IS that evidence?Go on, all you did was tell us to look at it, you never supplied.Why not look at the greatest "pirates" were the biggest buyers, or how when the biggest filesharing network was Du lch Phan Thiet - Tour Du lch Phan Thiet

    2. Re:Copyright ethics, he says? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To learn about copyright ethics -- that is, how unethical the very concept is -- be sure to read [... some thing(s) that some person(s) wrote and offer with or without charge!]

      As a Greek i write to offer you -free of charge- my advise on the meaning of (un)ethicality: it may not mean what you think it means - some person that STEALS some thing can be ethical if his ethics is that of a THIEF...

  13. Educate kids on the ethice. by serviscope_minor · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Damn right they should educate kids on the ethics!

    You know about how copyright was about enhancing the greater good by restricting the free flow of ideas temporarily to improve the pool of ideas and how the current insane terms break this contract.

    So he doesn't actually mean that, (surprise! he's a liar!) what he actually means is educate kids with corporate propaganda.

    --
    SJW n. One who posts facts.
    1. Re:Educate kids on the ethice. by benjfowler · · Score: 1

      He's a Conservative. There's probably some angle in there, where either him or his friends stand to benefit.

      The man is obviously suffering from right-wing brain canker, where the entire world is filtered through the notion of individual greed and self-interest, and the only value worth preserving is corporate profit and fat dividends for Tory-supported old people.

    2. Re:Educate kids on the ethice. by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      He's a Conservative. There's probably some angle in there, where either him or his friends stand to benefit.

      Well that's totally unlike Labour who generally have some angle where they or their friends benefit.

      Hopefully we're moving to a more multi-party parliament this time.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    3. Re:Educate kids on the ethice. by MeesterCat · · Score: 1

      Whilst I am no fan of the Tory Party or their policies in general, a quick look at his Wiki page suggests he's not the cartoon villain you might suggest. He is also not standing for election in the forthcoming General Election, presumably on health grounds.

      --
      "I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different." ~ Kurt Vonnegut Jnr.
  14. Providers by johnsmith2708 · · Score: 1

    Providers will do all they wants and will use user's data for their own purposes. The blocking pirate sites is not business of providers

  15. 127.0.0.1 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Do not route yourself to the internet, Mr IP Man.

  16. MediaDefender by thegarbz · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Yep I fully agree. I hope they start knocking off all sorts of legitimate media as a result because how the hell are they supposed to identify is any specific website hosting content actually owns that IP? What with thousands of publishers owning the IP rights to billions of pieces of media who knows if Sony has the right to distribute a video they are showing on their own website? Heck streaming a football match on ESPN isn't even certain. Maybe there's a dispute in the background and they don't own the IP there either.

    I saw we block everything, starting with all the media companies. Man that would make the internet far more pleasant.

  17. I completely agree by Alain+Williams · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Also:

    • * the post office should also check every parcel
    • * the train company to check that no passenger is a crook travelling to do a robbery
    • * bakeries that no one buying buns is going to put poison in them and so kill old ladies
    • * clothing shops that no one buying a mac is a flasher

    The word will be a safer place if everyone checked that their customers were innocent!

    1. Re:I completely agree by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      no one buying a mac is a flasher

      I hadnt realized the Apple customer base were such perverts or that home computers were now considered fashion accessories available at a haberdashery. (j.k. Iits slang for raincoat

    2. Re:I completely agree by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's more, we're all 'morally obligated'...we should feel bad for not treating everyone like a potential criminal.

      Methinks the police have become so accustomed to dealing with criminals that they've trained themselves to believe that there's no such thing as innocent. Even well intentioned behavior like downloading a pirate version AFTER buying the retail version - they don't understand that retail copies are sometimes so hobbled by anti-piracy technologies that they effectively become a nuisance. I don't expect retail software to cripple my home computer in the name of licensing. Doing "the right thing" shouldn't fuck me over.

      But, no, removing this malware from retail software is somehow a menace because it enables piracy - well, guns enable murder but I don't see anyone making waves about that. Because money. Someone is paying the police to make these statements, or someone is paying someone above the police to tell the police to solve this "problem" and now the police want a share of that, or want to kick off the work. It's all about pushing the problem downstream so someone else can fix it. If you want to make statements like 'morally obligated' then you have to have moral standards to start with. Stop enacting bogus laws that serve only your own pockets. Stop passing laws allowing egregious abuses of human rights. Stop throwing hooker parties using public funds. Stop depriving people of their dignity, stop beating people needlessly, and stop robbing people on the highways. After you've done that we can talk about 'moral obligations'.

  18. What a tard by LordWabbit2 · · Score: 1

    All this will do is force the file sharers to start encrypting everything. Give me access to the content I want, when I want it (I live outside the USA) and I will gladly pay. Until then, I will gladly pirate what I want, when I want it.

    --
    There are three kinds of falsehood: the first is a 'fib,' the second is a downright lie, and the third is statistics.
    1. Re:What a tard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All this will do is force the file sharers to start encrypting everything. Give me access to the content I want, when I want it (I live outside the USA) and I will gladly pay. Until then, I will gladly pirate what I want, when I want it.

      Don't worry, they've already thought of that. They're already working on eliminating the use of encryption by normal (non-Government) people.

  19. If UK ISPs are asked to police... by ks9208661 · · Score: 1

    ... will they be given guns, or batons at least?

    1. Re:If UK ISPs are asked to police... by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

      ... will they be given guns, or batons at least?

      Of course they will. They'd also get spare military equipment (if there was any). These file sharers are hard core crims don'tchaknow.

      --
      Wanna buy a shirt?
      https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
  20. civil vs criminal by pr100 · · Score: 4, Informative

    The police should be interested in criminal offences, not civil matters. Copyright is complicated because (in the UK at least) infringement can be both, but the two aspects get conflated. The criminal offences (broadly) are to do with dealing in infringing items for profit, and it's reasonable that the police pursue people committing such offences.

    The issue of whether these things *should* be offences is a separate matter. What we don't want is the police deciding which offences they're going to try to enforce. If society doesn't want criminal copyright infringement then that should be for legislators to decide, not law enforcement.

    1. Re:civil vs criminal by auric_dude · · Score: 1

      City Of London Police PIPCU https://www.cityoflondon.polic... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

  21. he wants, or his owners want? by dltaylor · · Score: 1

    Rules are differrent there than in the US, but I doubt that there's no money channel to himself, his party, or someone about whom he cares enough to sell out Her Majesty's subjects in favor of the money.

    1. Re:he wants, or his owners want? by coofercat · · Score: 2

      His owners are the same ones that own all of UK politics: The US.

      People here in the UK are supporting the likes of UKIP because they'll keep those pesky Europeans at bay - the thing is, Europe is like a pussy cat compared to the behind-the-scenes back-channel under-the-counter pressure that comes from the US.

    2. Re:he wants, or his owners want? by desdinova+216 · · Score: 1

      I was under the impression from anecdotal sources that UKIP was the equivalent of the Tea Party types in the US.

  22. Any real crack down will result... by Karmashock · · Score: 1

    ... in a political backlash.

    so most of these statements are just noise.

    --
    I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
  23. Bah by benjfowler · · Score: 1

    What colour is the sky on this guy's planet??

    He has drunk far too much of the copyright cartel's Kool-Aid. In what reality does copyright infringment result in JAIL TIME? In a world where custodial sentences are increasingly being reserved only for violent offences? Maybe this tory crook thinks that copyright infringement is a violent assault against the oversized profits of buggy-whip makers?

    The notion that businesses with bad or obsolete business models should have the right to claim that newer and better businesses should prop up their businesses for them is scandalous, and a terrible precedent to set.

    Next thing you know, he'll be demanding that buggy-whip makers will be entitled to tell car makers how they must support buggy-whip makers, etc etc.

    It reflects the arrogance and studied cluelessness of his conservative milieu. Outrageous.

  24. And of course... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    they should pay to make their own service worse out of their own pocket

  25. Get back to me when they steal something, then. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because if you copy something, you haven't stolen jack shit, you've CREATED a new copy.

    Of course, they've TAKEN the public domain then created a new copy of it THEN MADE IT THEIR PROPERTY. If you want to feel like calling copyright offences theft, then you need to look at the industry itself: it's BASED on theft. And why should those thieves get to profit from their theft?

    Hmm?

  26. Really? by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    I'll torrent via the UK link of my VPN to give them some work to do.

  27. Words to live by by jargonburn · · Score: 1

    The UK's top IP advisor has published recommendations on how Internet service providers should deal with online piracy. Among other things, he suggested that Internet services should search for and filter infringing content proactively.

    Now, does the top IP advisor who hasn't been bought and paid for by the media industry/conglomerates have anything to add? ......*crickets chirping*.....
    Yeah, didn't think so.

  28. And by strange coincidence, politician paid by by Wowsers · · Score: 2

    By strange coincidence, a politician who wants ISPs to pay for the job the film and music industry should do if they want, is paid by: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/...

    Name of donor: Motion Picture Licensing Co Ltd
    and
    Name of donor: CASBAA (Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia)

    --
    Take Nobody's Word For It.
    1. Re:And by strange coincidence, politician paid by by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He is the head of that organization! He donated to HIMSELF!

    2. Re:And by strange coincidence, politician paid by by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bonus: his wife (is/was) a prostitute: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1309280/Tory-MP-Mike-Weatherley-discovers-wife-Carla-70-time-prostitute.html

    3. Re:And by strange coincidence, politician paid by by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He's also a director of the MOTION PICTURE LICENSING COMPANY INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

      http://www.theyworkforyou.com/regmem/?p=24889

    4. Re:And by strange coincidence, politician paid by by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am shocked, absolutely shocked by the insinuation that this man is a paid for shill. An MP as well.

      Next thing you'll be saying is they fiddle their expenses...

    5. Re:And by strange coincidence, politician paid by by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So he's accepted (and declared) two overseas trips, to a total value of about 8 grand, over five years?

      If that's your idea of a smoking gun, it ain't mine. In the USA, your average no-name Congressman takes more than that from any one of their leading donors per year - and they take it in cash, not in business trips.

      Seriously, if you've ever been on a business trip, you must know how much fun it isn't. The idea that people are swayed by the prospect of four days - including travel time - having their ear bent by lobbyists in Hong Kong - well, all I can say is, I wouldn't find it highly recreational.

  29. UK Kids should be educated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That this twat is a whore for the Copyright industry

  30. Hmm.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Good luck... always one step ahead.

  31. it must be really nice over there in the uk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    all your problems are solved, people never go hungry, everybody is happy and healthy and employed, schoolchildren get top marks, there are no murders, robberies, or other (real) crimes, and the environment is in top shape........... and that the only thing left for government and politicians to care about is online piracy...

  32. media companies and ethics by hackwrench · · Score: 1

    So when will media companies and governments that pass bad copyright laws get educated on ethics.

  33. April Fools by Drethon · · Score: 1

    With the stories today I'm sometimes not sure if I should attribute to April Fools and other stories I just wish I could attribute to April Fools...

  34. I wonder by g0bshiTe · · Score: 1

    By using their standards if you could sue the gov because you or a loved one got in an accident on the M1.

    Obviously the government provided that road, they should also be responsible for stopping accidents proactively.

    --
    I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
  35. This is typical UK police state BULLSHIT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fuck the UK.

    Fuck their queen, fuck their bad teeth, fuck their gun laws, fuck their holding Assange
    hostage.

    FUCK them.

  36. Drop Your Customers by wasteoid · · Score: 1

    What business would ever actively drop their own paying customers? Makes no sense.

  37. April Fools!!! =^) by Bathroom+Humor · · Score: 1

    Oh gosh, it sure took me a while to get it, but I finally did! This one is a doozey!
    HAHA HAHA HAHA This is hilarious. So many amazing prank articles out today and this one is the best!