ISPs And Entertainment Companies In Denmark Look To Set Up Piracy Review Board

from the the-board-declares-you-a-pirate dept

While the EU has repeatedly said that three strikes-type legislation is a violation of basic human rights, there is a loophole. It's been said that it would be okay if there's an independent board reviewing the cases to make sure it's not just based on random accusations. That seems to have brought ISPs and the entertainment industry to the bargaining table in Denmark, where apparently they're trying to hash out the details on some sort of "Pirate Review Board" whose job would be to manage these sorts of disputes. Similar attempts have gone nowhere to date -- and the reports coming out of this one suggest the two sides are also far apart, with the entertainment firms trying to push the ISPs to take on more responsibility and expense.

That said, it's worth noting who's missing from all of these conversations: actual consumers. Effectively, the ISPs end up defending their customers here, but the interests may not be totally aligned. Now, some may say that "pirates" deserve no seat at the discussions, since they're the ones "breaking the law." But the concern is about those on the margin: those where fair use may apply or who aren't causing any harm to the industry. The entertainment industry likes to automatically lump every "pirate" together into a single group, no matter how incorrect or misleading that may be. Someone should be standing up for legitimate consumer rights in the setup of these sorts of panels. ISPs, alone, may not be the best positioned to make sure consumers don't get harmed by a "pirate" review board.

Filed Under: consumers, denmark, piracy review board