UK Gov't Now Supporting 3 Strikes: Lobbyists Win Again

from the the-will-of-the-people? dept

Ah, those pesky lobbyists. It seems that the UK gov't really has a way with doing a detailed report on what should be done on the music industry, which gets some of the important points right... and then it all gets tossed out the window once the recording industry lobbyists jump into things. Remember a few years back when the gov't commissioned the Gowers Report, which said copyright terms should not be extended (and Gowers himself later admitted that all of the evidence actually suggests it should be shortened)? Yup, well, then the lobbyists took over, and suddenly the government's Cultural Secretary Andy Burnham is singing the praises of copyright extension. These days, it looks like extension is almost certainly going to happen in the UK despite all the evidence as to why it shouldn't.

Looks like the same thing is happening again. Earlier this year, the UK gov't "Digital Britain" report clearly said that a three strikes regime, whereby ISPs would be responsible for kicking file sharers offline, didn't make sense. While there were other problems with the report, at least it knew better than to drag ISPs into things as copyright cops.

But... then the lobbyists took over. Entertainment industry lobbyists have been working overtime in the UK (the stories we've been hearing are pretty nuts...), and a few weeks ago the British press was noting that UK Business Secretary Peter Mandelson had vacationed with David Geffen (who has ties to both the recording and the movie industries) and suddenly showed an immense interest that hadn't been there before, on changing Digital Britain to make the rules tougher.

So, surprise, surprise... suddenly ISPs are finding out that three strikes is back on the table even after being promised it wouldn't be. The original report had given regulators until 2012 to consider what technical measures ISPs should take -- if any. But Mandelson's department has suddenly declared that timeframe is "too long." The minister for Digital Britain, Stephen Timms, practically comes out and admits that they were lobbied hard:

"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."

So, expect three strikes to show up in the UK. Of course, it will be a dreadful mistake. I still can't understand why the recording industry thinks this is a good idea. You may kick people off the internet, but does anyone honestly think that will actually get people to buy again? It seems like a strategy designed to piss more people off. And when has that ever been good for business?

Filed Under: andy burnham, copyright, digital britain, peter mandelson, stephen timms, three strikes, uk

Digital Britain: Few Surprises As It Looks To Prop Up Content Industries

from the government-doing-what-government-does dept

The final version of the UK government's Digital Britain report, its blueprint for updating the country's tech-related laws and infrastructure, has been released today, and it doesn't look like it holds too many surprises. Like the interim report that was released earlier this year, it's full of a lot of vague language, and as the UK's opposition party points out, seems most interested in propping up failing old-media business models. Two aspects of the report are grabbing the most attention. First, the government will start a 50p (about 80 cents) monthly tax on landline phones in order to build out broadband networks in rural and other unserved areas. Second, and more controversially, the report says the UK's communications regulator must cut file-sharing by 70%, and calls for ISPs to help accomplish this by keeping tabs on their users, sending them notification letters when they download infringing material, and giving up their details to content companies (with a court order) so they can be sued. It stops short of creating a rights agency run by the copyright cartel, as had been rumored, and while it doesn't endorse the use of a three-strikes policy, it does say that regulators will have the power to force ISPs to use other technical means (such as throttling connections, traffic shaping, and even blocking certain sites, services and protocols) to try and stop persistent infringers.

The report pays a lot of lip service to the fact that content businesses need to update their business models to the changing digital environment, but it really does very little to help facilitate this, instead preferring to make stopping piracy the central focus. The government seems to have fully bought into the entertainment industry's propaganda -- that it can't do anything until piracy stops, that it can't move forward as long as there's file-sharing. The reality isn't that the industry can't move forward, but rather that it won't. And, after all, if the government is willing to get involved and offer the industry special protection to prop up its ailing business models, why should it?

Filed Under: copyright, digital britain, file sharing, isps, levies, recording industry, uk, universal access

Software Industry Slams Digital Britain Report For Protecting Music Industry Interests

from the and-not-software-industry-interests-as-well dept

At first, this sounded like a good thing: a software industry group slammed the Digital Britain report that came out recently for basically caving to recording industry interests, noting that it was just that industry using its lobbying power to try to prop up a failed business model. Indeed! Except... then you look at the details and it's not as impressive. The software group is the Federation Against Software Theft and Investors in Software (FAST IiS), which should already have you scratching your head... and then the details show that basically they're not upset about propping up a failed business model, they just wish it also propped up their own failed business model:

"All digital content is equal before the law and so too should be all digital industries. A piecemeal approach will confuse digital consumers, both the public and businesses, will muddy the legal framework and will therefore ultimately impede Britain's success in the new digital economy of the twenty-first century."

Yes, it's awful that the plan basically tries to prop up one industry -- but why should it need to prop up two industries with failed business models?

Filed Under: digital britain, music, protectionism, software, uk

Digital Britain Report: Blank Promises, Vague Statements And Everything Is Hedged...

from the politics-today dept

The long awaited (and somewhat delayed) Digital Britain interim report has been released, and, like the Gowers Report on intellectual property before it, this one seems way too "balanced" for its own good. That is, it seems to avoid taking a really significant stand on anything. For example, it says that the country should have universal broadband (of at least 2 Mbps), but doesn't explain how. It just offers up some vague statements about hoping that private sector ISPs reach that goal, and urging the BBC to promote the wonders of broadband to those who haven't signed up yet.

The same sort of vague uselessness is found in the part on copyright and file sharing. While there were early fears that the report would urge the government to force ISPs to become copyright cops, that turns out not to be the case... sort of. Instead, the report seems to take both sides of the issue. First it seems to admonish the Big Content industries for failing to adapt to new markets and new technologies: "The core ethos, and success, of the internet to date lies in its ability to stimulate shared ideas and content," and suggests that rather than relying on copyright and lawsuits, they should be exploring new business models that allow "for innovation in platforms, devices and applications that make use of content and that respond to consumers' desire to access content in the time and manner they want, allowing them to use it how they want, and at a price they are willing to pay."

That sounds good... but then in a nod to those companies it just told need to figure out another business model, it says: "counter-piracy measures and effective rights enforcement are an 'important element' of upholding creative copyright and content ownership," and then promises to eventually force ISPs to be copyright cops, anyway. In other words, look at new business models, but if you don't, the government is still going to protect your old business model.

Basically, it's hard to feel too much one way or another about this report. It seems to promise everything and nothing, and insist that changes need to be made, while promising to protect those who don't change. It's perhaps not surprising in a political document, but it's hard to see the document as being anything more than fluffy nothingness at this point.

Filed Under: digital britain, file sharing, isps, uk, universal broadband