Illegal file-sharers will be disconnected from internet services, says Business Secretary Lord Mandelson.Speaking at the C&binet Forum, set up by the government to discuss issues involving creative media, Mandelson announced that there there will be a 'three strikes' warning system involved in tackling those who provide and download illegal file-shares.He said that cutting of those users' internet connections would be a "last resort", adding that people will receive two notifications of infractions, and if the decision was made to cut them off there would be an appeals procedure.And the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, which Mandelson heads up, pointed out that there would be a toolkit of technical measures available to encourage illegal file-sharers to desist, including bandwidth reductions and capping downloads.Expressing his dismay at suggestions that only 5% of music tracks downloaded is acquired legally, Lord Mandelson said that the trade-off for stricter controls on online piracy would be a relaxation of copyright laws, allowing copying of a CD to a personal player, for example, or sharing with family or friends.But internet service provider TalkTalk says it will "continue to resist any attempts to make it impose technical measures on customers," and that it thinks the 'three strikes' rule would lead to users being wrongfully accused.
It has set up a campaign called Don't Disconnect Us to oppose the plans.
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Daveee October 28, 2009 20:39
Why at the expense of the taxpayer are the government even bothering with this? All of the copyright owners of the material make enough profit to look after themselves.
Is investing a little of their multi million pound profit to resolve a problem that is ultimately theirs too much to ask?
FazZ October 28, 2009 18:29
Fair to many careless for quality, which is why piracy is still in demand!
Quality media is still over priced, slow availability and not exactly high quality when it comes to it (like so many BluRay discs).
Find the balanced and most of these issues will go away. Piracy will always be available, because many people simply can't afford to pay for the real thing, but mostly don't care for quality at all.
Lastly... why must we insist on a round bit of plastic, inside a plastic case, that you must physically purchase somewhere or order over the internet, then find it, put it into a dedicated player to actually view it?