Music industry wants ISPs to disconnect you

[samjh]

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21555941-2,00.html

Download illegal music, and have your internet service disc'ed, or even phone line cut?

I'd like to know: who is going to monitor and decide whether your download is legal or illegal? And how are they going to do it without breaching privacy laws? Even the federal government's law enforcement and security intelligence agencies need warrants to monitor internet communication. I fail to see how the music industry can be so much more important than the AFP or ASIO to be granted blanket powers to monitor illegal music downloads.

Even the principle of dishing out that kind of penalty seems wrong. If someone is banned from driving, he or she is still allowed to use the road for transport. Disconnecting a person's phone line or their internet connection is a bit like putting that person under house arrest for a traffic offence.

[happy-and-lost]

Sheesh. I have 250ish CDs and regularly attend concerts. Am I seriously damaging the industry when I download the odd Coldplay B-side?

[mykalreborn]

this is the world we live in. don't think that before this your internet connection was private. ;)

[darkhatter]

%&$$ the R.I.A.A (for all the digg users)

[tbroderick]

And how are they going to do it without breaching privacy laws? Even the federal government's law enforcement and security intelligence agencies need warrants to monitor internet communication.


I'm not a lawyer, but I would imagine they would argue their is no expectation of privacy when using bitorrent or P2P. You share freely and openly to just about anyone. I'd also imagine, that they could intentionally put of phony torrent releases to try to create a virtual sting.

[ruhestörer]

even if the find illegal data on your pc they aren't allowed to use this in court.
at least in germany.
and acording to who the music industrie is searching for most of u isn't in trouble,
except of those who are uploading a few gigs a day
at least that's what i heard abaout that.

[EdThaSlayer]

Damn the MPAA, damn those RIAA guys, damn those suits behind the BSA, they also have something called the DMCA. When you have listened to FSR(rapper group) you understand quite a lot about these
anti-privacy guys(RIAA,MPAA).

[wheels.]

....... I'd also imagine, that they could intentionally put of phony torrent releases to try to create a virtual sting.
it happens.
I got an email from my ISP about a couple of movies I downloaded. They said that this was warning number two. (number one came from ripped off warcraft II:( )
I immediatley called and complained to my ISP about lack of privacy.
My ISP said that they knew nothing about it. The tech support said it was illegal for them to look at what I was downloading. So it must have been in the torrent. And the email must have been from the company just trying to scare me.
But disconnecting your phone line seems a little too extreme.

Theres a photocopier in a library. Im pretty sure those books are copyrighted.
Most downloaders dl a few songs check em out, and then buy the album.

Music companies are just over the top.

thats my 0.02

[Lucifiel]

Hmph the problem comes when RIAA doesn't bother to check if the music downloads are legal BEFORE they try sueing people and sometimes, the musician as well.

Try telling that to someone I knew, man, he was trying to gain more exposure for his band and so, he allowed for legal downloads via BT and other methods. As a result, RIAA found out, and tried to sue him and the people who downloaded their songs. I've since lost touch with him and I'm not sure what happened, though, but last I knew he was pretty pissed with them.

Finally, I'd like to mention that the data RIAA relies on is very inconsistent and unreliable. Therefore, this means that many innocents will be persecuted as well. In America and many other countries, I thought it was "innocent until proven guilty". In RIAA's world, it's "guilty until proven innocent but we'll try our hardest to screw you for life."

[Polygon]

i dont download music cds, i go out and buy them (so i can have the cd for as long as i want, can give to family members, and can convert to any format / bitrate that i want)

but i did download a childrens movie that i wanted to re-watch for old time sake, the thing is i own the video tape (as i remeber watching it when i was kid) but i could not find it. sure enough i got a email from my isp to stop.

and i also use bittorent a lot, but its for legal stuff (free mods, game patches, ubuntu torrents, etc)

soon the current system we have will crash and burn, and a new system will develop. the current system we have did not predict what something like the internet would do it it :D

[mykalreborn]

soon the current system we have will crash and burn, and a new system will develop. the current system we have did not predict what something like the internet would do it it

that is so true my friend.

[koshatnik]

Oh, can I quote Star Wars here?

"The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers..."

Replace star systems with filesharers. :D

[super breadfish]

You know, why don't they just fit our houses with telescreens, they get more like Big Brother every day, so they might as well make that final step.

[jgrabham]

I thought if you own a copy of the music, then you are allowed to dowload it. If have the album "a kind of magic" doesnt this mean im alowd to download prines of the universe from lime wire?

And how would my ISP know what records I have?

[PhatStreet]

I thought if you own a copy of the music, then you are allowed to dowload it. If have the album "a kind of magic" doesnt this mean im alowd to download prines of the universe from lime wire?Morally yes, legally (unfortunately) no. Kind of a shame.

I recently had to download new Battlefield 1942 CDs because the poor-quality CDs EA had sold me had worn out. Illegal? Sure, but I didn't feel bad about it, I bought the friggin' game.

[jgrabham]

but when you bought the game, didnt you effectively buy the license to use it?

[koshatnik]

I thought if you own a copy of the music, then you are allowed to dowload it. If have the album "a kind of magic" doesnt this mean im alowd to download prines of the universe from lime wire?

And how would my ISP know what records I have?


You are legally allowed to make a back up copy of something you have bought. It's fair use laws, although I understand that in America those are being abolished. I don't think such ISP snoopery will be allowed in Europe, we like our rights too much over here.

[LookTJ]

I feel that music is free as in freedom and open source

and the people that control the industries are destroying the freedom of music and singing.

[ahaslam]

I have a big problem with legal mp3 downloads. The quality is rubbish, why can't they provide something like VBR 160-320 & without DRM so that we can use it? When you can walk into a library & rent an album for £1, paying more for less seems stupid. I can completely understand why so many people use P2P to get their music.

[ceil420]

I'm at a "transitional" (read: lazy, jobless) period of my life right now, and can't afford $20 CDs. Even if I could, there are a very few albums that I think would be worth the buy; and only three groups who's entire discographies I'd purchase (Tool, Portishead, and Massive Attack). Sorry, Pearl Jam, but I'm not shelling out $20 to buy your album (I think it's "Yield") just for Corduroy and Betterman. I'll stick with my torrents/p2p.

I think the ARTISTS do have a right to sue illegal downloaders of their music; I think the RIAA can **** off. If Eddie Vedder came up to me and asked compensation for VS and Ten, I'd try to work out a deal. If the RIAA suits came up to me, I'd give 'em the finger.

[BWF89]

One of my friends got an email from his ISP (Comcast) saying he needs to stop downloading pirated games or they were going to shut off his internet access. He completely ignored the email, is downloading more games than ever, and they didn't do anything.