ORG Press Coverage/2010

December

2010-12-20 - BBC News - Internet porn block 'not possible' say ISPs: Summary:'

2012-05-28 - Guardian - Digital Economy Act: ISPs told to start collecting filesharers' data next year: Author: Richard Wray; Summary:

2010-02-26 - Ars Technica - Three-strikes petition gets attention of 10 Downing Street: Author: Nate Anderson; Summary: In a sign of just how charged the debate over Internet disconnections has become, the UK Prime Minister's office has weighed in on the matter. "We will not terminate the accounts of infringers," said a statement from 10 Downing Street. "It is very hard to see how this could be deemed proportionate except in the most extreme—and therefore probably criminal—cases"... Still, the UK does support "account suspensions." This would appear to have the same practical effect as account termination, though users could switch to another ISP and start new service with them. The Open Rights Group complains that this is mere semantic quibbling. "Please do not be confused by the government’s semantics," wrote the group's director, Jim Killock. "[The government] decided in the summer that they would not refer to 'disconnecting' users, because that sounds harsh and over the top. 'Temporary account suspension' sounds much more reasonable.

2010-02-23 - The Guardian - Mandelson could decide length of internet suspensions for filesharers: Author: Charles Arthur; Summary: A government minister, not parliament, will decide on the maximum period for which people found guilty of illicit filesharing can have their accounts suspended if the Digital Economy bill becomes law... The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) on Tuesday said that "suspension" meant "temporary suspension". But the Open Rights Group said that this was "semantics" and that the government had simply chosen a different form of words to mean the same thing.

2010-02-19 - PCR - Open Rights Group: Digital Economy Bill is bad: Author: Matt Grainger; Summary: Open internet advocates say ISP tracking is too imprecise for legal action. The Open Rights Group has slammed the Digital Economy Bill, saying that the method of targeting specific ISP addresses will result in the wrong people being prosecuted.

2010-02-11 - The Guardian - Act against the digital economy bill: Author: Jim Killock; Summary: The government's plans to punish copyright infringers are a disproportionate modern-day equivalent of banishment. It's time to get worried. By way of the digital economy bill, Lord Mandelson means to punish innocent people and limit their right to a fair trial. He means to grant his successors the power to block web content by order, without restriction. His proposals are aimed at restricting copyright infringers, but in reality will damage many people who have never done anything wrong.

2010-02-05 - The Guardian - Opposition to digital ecnomy bill grows: Author: Charles Arthur; Summary: Opposition to the government's digital economy bill has increased sharply, with strong criticism in the House of Lords for its failure to offer "due judicial process" to people accused of illicit filesharing under the proposed "three strikes" rules of the bill. Outside parliament, hotels and educators have complained that the bill also endangers their businesses and provision of the internet to the public because of its insistence that organisations providing net access should be liable for the actions of their customers.

2010-02-05 - BBC News - Digital Economy Bill bill could 'breach rights': Summary: An influential group of MPs and peers has said the government's approach to illegal file-sharing could breach the rights of internet users. The Joint Select Committee on Human Rights said the government's Digital Economy Bill needed clarification.

2010-02-04 - ITPRO - Educators call for exemption from Digital Economy Bill: Author: Jennifer Scott; Summary: Members of libraries, universities and schools are worried pirating students will put their internet access in danger if the Digital Economy Bill goes through parliament.

2010-02-02 - Zeropaid - UK ISP Talk Talk: Copyright Bill Will Increase Piracy: Summary: Warns that Digital Economy Bill, as written, will only “hasten the migration away from P2P” as people develop tools and applications to evade anti-piracy measures. Carphone Warehouse chief executive Charles Dunstone is calling for the Government to come to its senses over its threat to disconnect illegal file-sharers from the Internet.

2010-01-26 - Thinkbroadband - TalkTalk present pitfalls of Digital Economy Bill to government: Summary: The Digital Economy Bill cannot protect copyright, MPs and Peers were told today at a briefing from Internet provider TalkTalk, the largest residential broadband provider in the UK. The company presented the case that the Bill will just encourage people to develop new ways around restrictions that are put in place, and showed examples of some of the tools that are currently available to allow people to do this.

2010-01-26 - The Telegraph.co.uk - Talk Talk 'would fight Digital Economy Bill in court': Author: Emma Barnett; Summary: Charles Dunstone, the chief executive of Carphone Warehouse, has said he could be prepared to fight the Government in court should the anti-piracy clauses of the Digital Economy Bill become legislation. Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Dunstone, whose company owns and operates the internet and telephony provider TalkTalk, said he refused to send his customers who were suspected file-sharers warning letters about their supposed activity or disconnect them, even if these clauses of the bill became law.

2010-01-26 - ITPRO - Q&A: Jim Killock, Open Rights Group: Author: Jennifer Scott; Summary: As the debate surrounding the Digital Economy Bill heats up, we spoke to the executive director of the Open Rights Group who feels the copyright aspects need to change.

2010-01-21 - BBC News - Online music piracy 'destroys local music': Summary: Countries like Spain run the risk of becoming "cultural deserts" because of online file-sharing, the music industry has claimed.