EU Proposal Would Outright Ban BitTorrent Sites, Make ISPs Copyright Cops & Use 3 Strikes

from the just-what-the-industry-ordered dept

You have to give the entertainment industry lobbyists credit for one thing: they never give up. When one of their proposals gets slapped down they always have many other efforts underway to give a similar proposal life somewhere else. So what if the EU Parliament said that using a three strikes policy went against basic civil rights? Just get another person to come up with a proposal that's even more strict. That seems to be what's happening as the EU Parliament may consider a proposal by Manuel Medina Ortega, which TorrentFreak notes basically is a perfect wishlist of the Big Copyright players. You've got your three strikes policies, your demands that ISPs "take responsibility" and (best of all) the declaration that all BitTorrent and file sharing services are 100% illegal -- no questions asked. Hmm. Apparently someone forgot to inform all the creative folks who are happily using such systems to distribute their works... I don't know enough about European politics to know if this is likely to go anywhere, but given earlier EU Parliament rulings, I'm hopeful that this is quickly tossed aside as being completely out of touch with reality.

Filed Under: eu, europe, isps, parliament, three strikes

European Parliament Rejects Laws Kicking File Sharers Off The Internet

from the three-strikes-law-strikes-out dept

Earlier this year, the EU Parliament spoke out against laws proposed by entertainment industry lobbyists, that would force ISPs to kick accused file sharers off the internet using a "three strikes" law. Now the Parliament has made its position even clearer, taking a vote and, once again, rejecting the idea of using three strikes laws to fight unauthorized file sharing, noting that it interfered with civil rights and privacy rights of individuals. The sponsor of the motion made it clear: "You do not play with individual freedoms like that." He also suggested that France, who had already put in place a three strikes law, should reconsider. It's so rare these days to see politicians not falling for the lobbyists' claims, that it's nice to see.

Filed Under: eu, europe, isps, parliament, three strikes