Media Gangs Up On Pirates

The media chiefs advising U.K. shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt on Internet policy are reportedly telling Lord Carter how to tackle online piracy in the Digital Britain report he’s to publish June 16.

What the Sunday Times described as the “copyright squad” is reportedly urging Carter to include legislation that will compel Internet services providers to collect information on illegal downloading. The squad is headed by former BBC director general Greg Dyke and includes Universal Music International head Lucian Grainge and former Warner and BPI chairman Rob Dickins.

The paper says the information may then be used to take action against repeat offenders, either through legal channels or by disconnecting their Internet.

The BPI and indies organisation IMPALA voiced support of the French attempts to include a “three strikes” clause in their own Internet laws – which was eventually passed by the national assembly May 12. But there’s little reason to believe that a similar law wouldn’t have a similar tough passage through the British assembly.

There’s also little evidence that the European parliament is likely to agree to make it legal to disconnect repeat file-swappers’ Internet connections without judicial involvement in the graduated response process.

Although the European parliament can’t impose conditions on how a member state organises its own judicial system, that situation changes if it appears to affect a European citizen’s fundamental rights. Much of Europe considers Internet access a fundamental right.

The “copyright squad” will compromise if an independent enforcement body, funded by the music industry but overseen by media regulator Ofcom, was made responsible for overseeing the crack down on illegal file-sharing.

The new enforcement body would be responsible for writing letters threatening illegal file-sharers with disconnection and seeing through the prosecutions of those who don’t heed the warnings. This would at least mean the ISPs wouldn’t have to spy on their own customers – they’d need only to provide the information that enabled the enforcement body to do it.

Speaking at a May 12 joint meeting of the Federation of Entertainment Unions, U.K. Film Council and BAFTA on the future of the creative industries, BPI Chief Executive Geoff Taylor said digital content can’t be “an endless free lunch for consumers,” as he urged the government to introduce legislation requiring ISPs to act against persistent illegal downloaders.