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Government to fast track anti-piracy proposals
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 25 August 2009
Who would have thought that after all these years of DRM and litigation and stressing and shouting and ISP baiting, what the music industry needed to combat online piracy was a Mandelson. And I’ve had one in a cupboard here at CMU HQ all that time, but never thought to use it. I’m now feeling rather silly.
Yes, the government, who once talked tough about P2P file-sharing, and then went a bit fluffy on the subject in its bit ‘Digital Britain’ report earlier this year, is now upping the anti again in a bid to cut the amount of unlicensed content shared by British web-users, and as a result “technical measures” could be used against persistent copyright infringers sooner rather than later.
As much previously reported, back at the start of 2008 ministers implied they would force internet service providers to start taking proactive steps against those who persistently share unlicensed music and film content on the net, starting with the mailing out of warning letters and, perhaps, ultimately resulting in the sort of account suspensions being introduced in France.
Such was the threat from government that the six biggest UK-based ISPs agreed to enter into a voluntary memorandum of understanding with the record companies, and started sending out warning letters to the customers the record industry believed were the biggest illegal file-sharers.
But then – possibly as a result of some serious lobbying from the net firms – Stevie Carter’s ‘Digital Britain’ report, where those implied measures to force ISPs to act on P2P piracy were expected to be formally stated, said very little about combating file-sharing, except that it was something that should probably happen. There was talk of forcing ISPs to take vague “technical measures” against persistent file-sharers, but not now, rather, in the future, presumably when it would be a Tory communications minister who would become associated with the potential internet disconnections such a policy might result in.
But now the very same government has published a new mini-report that amends ‘Digital Britain’ and says that if “technical measures” are going to be employed against “hardcore copyright pirates” then it should be done now, not later. DigiMin Stephen Timms has announced the change of heart, though it’s widely believed it is Business Secretary Peter Mandelson who has brought the anti-filesharing initiative forward, him having recently become very interested in the issue, possibly or possibly not as a result of having lunch with former record industry chief and current film studio owner David Geffen.
Announcing the change of plan, the aforementioned Timms said this: “We’ve been listening carefully to responses to the consultation this far, and it’s become clear there are widespread concerns that the plans as they stand could delay action, impacting unfairly upon rights holders”. Quite how the proposed measures to combat piracy would really work – and whether they would ever result in the actual suspension or disconnection of the internet accounts of persistent infringers – isn’t very clear, but today’s announcement means we should find out more about those measures a lot sooner than originally planned.
Needless to say, representatives of the record industry, who were disappointed by DigiBrit’s lacklustre commitments on the P2P issue, have welcomed the latest development. Cross music industry trade body UK Music said: “UK Music is pleased that government is proposing accelerated and proportionate action to meet their stated ambition of reducing illegal file-sharing by 70-80% within two to three years. Throughout this debate, UK Music has voiced concerns that the original time frame of proposed legislation, and particularly the trigger mechanisms that would grant Ofcom reserve powers to implement technical measures, would have failed to meet these ambitions. More than that, these trigger mechanisms would have required our members to take [civil] legal action against individuals – a move the UK music industry has consistently resisted. We look forward to open discussions with Government and other stakeholders in the weeks ahead”.
Speaking for the record companies, the boss of the BPI, Geoff Taylor told CMU: “Digital piracy is a serious problem and a real threat to the UK’s creative industries. We welcome the government’s recognition that this problem needs to be addressed urgently, so today is a step forward that should help the legal digital market to grow for consumers. The solution to the piracy problem must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. We look forward to working with government and ISPs on the details of these proposals to ensure these objectives are met”.
Equally needless to say, the Internet Service Providers’ Association, who like the idea of ISPs having no role in combating online piracy, responded negatively to Timm’s announcement. They told reporters: “ISPA and consumer groups consider disconnection of users to be a disproportionate response, a view that was recently supported by the European Parliament”.
So there you go, round one went to the record companies, round two to the ISPs, and now, it seems, round three may be won by the music industry again, thanks to that clever play of a Mandelson.
