Neowin.net - Europe votes on anti-piracy laws

Europe votes on anti-piracy laws

Posted by Tom Warren on 08 July 2008 - 09:09 · 40 comments & 6700 views

Europeans suspected of putting movies and music on file-sharing networks could be thrown off the web under proposals before Brussels.

The powers are in a raft of laws that aim to harmonise the regulations governing Europe's telecom markets.

Other amendments added to the packet of laws allow governments to decide which software can be used on the web.

Campaigners say the laws trample on personal privacy and turn net suppliers into copyright enforcers.

MEPs are due to vote on the so-called Telecom Packet on 7 July. The core proposals in the packet were drawn up to help European telecoms firms cope with the rapid pace of change in the industry.

Technological and industry changes that did not respect borders had highlighted the limitations of Europe's current approach which sees national governments oversee their telecoms markets.

"The current fragmentation hinders investment and is detrimental to consumers and operators," says the EU document laying out the proposals.

View: BBC News

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(1 reply) #1 Posted by PermaSt0ne on 08 Jul 2008 - 09:47: "Other amendments added to the packet of laws allow governments to decide which software can be used on the web."

sad thing is, with lobbying, i can see this happening. but if it does than the underground will come out in full force and we'll see encryption & freedom like we've never seen before

the tighter the governments make the rules, the more motivated they'll get and the harder they'll push back. that's the beauty of the internet. the very premise of it is to share information; and that will be the governments undoing

(1 reply) #2 Posted by +James7 on 08 Jul 2008 - 10:12: I think this is also partly an attack by proprietary software companies against free/open source software. Much of the distribution of large open source software programs is through bittorrent. Many people spread Linux distros that way. This saves them money. Trying to close down bittorrent and other file-sharing algorithms is also suspiciously in the interest of closed source companies like Microsoft and Apple

#3 Posted by +Coldgunner on 08 Jul 2008 - 10:37: Am I the only one who can't see the problem in the current system? ISP's should not be monitoring for copyright infringement, other than reporting possible infractions. With the internet being part of life now, could this be taken to the european court of human rights? (so much as I'm against the european court, it may be useful)

(1 reply) #4 Posted by DARKFiB3R on 08 Jul 2008 - 10:45: European politicians have voted in favour of amendments to telecoms law which campaigners say could be used to curb privacy online and file-sharing.

but...

The vote on whether to approve the Telecom Packet, which is a raft of laws aimed at harmonising European telecoms regulation, takes place in September.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7495085.stm

#5 Posted by +Digix on 08 Jul 2008 - 11:16: they can take DPI or suspicion and shove it where the sun doesn't shine. internet is a place anyone has right to go on and can't be blocked from because of corporate bureaucracy.

(1 reply) #6 Posted by X'tyfe on 08 Jul 2008 - 11:37: they can try, but they will never take us down
its impossible to win a war against the internet

#7 Posted by El Sid on 08 Jul 2008 - 11:43: Other amendments added to the packet of laws allow governments to decide which software can be used on the web.

So does this mean that software companies would need a licence to access the web? And does this mean that if (hypothetically) Microsoft feed a government money, Firefox could be banned from web access (not that it will happen)?

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Stories like this are exactly what I imagine to be the start of the end of the internet. ISP's are there to Provide an Internet Service. ISP's don't need to 'big brother' my connection, I can tell them that I do occasionally break the law regarding the internet, instead they should work on keeping their systems and hardware up to date to provide me with the best connection I can get. Don't like it? Don't be an ISP.
In the end, if ISP's start monitoring connections and inspecting packets then people will just end up encrypting their connections, and all the taxpayer money spend on bull like this is nullified.

#8 Posted by Michael1406 on 08 Jul 2008 - 12:25: The sad thing is, this is probably just the start.

#9 Posted by ZombieFly on 08 Jul 2008 - 13:10: |

(6 replies) #10 Posted by leesmithg on 08 Jul 2008 - 13:16: Europe is just going to become like the old Soviet Union and China all rolled into 1.

(1 reply) #11 Posted by Julius Caro on 08 Jul 2008 - 14:01: Wait for the whole "government turning against the people in favour of big corporation" thing to explode in a few decades.

(1 reply) #12 Posted by MightyJordan on 08 Jul 2008 - 15:04: I bloody hate the EU.

Also, they can't do this. They can't throw you off the internet if you're suspected of downloading illegal stuff. You have to have been caught downloading illegal stuff, and they can't do that, because they can't see what you're downloading, as that's an invasion of your privacy. If in the future, they can see what you're downloading, you can hide your P2P connections behind an encryption (uTorrent has this feature), and you're safe; because it is illegal to hack an encryption. And if they made it legal, the hackers would just run riot!

They can't do a thing to stop people downloading illegal stuff. Period.

(1 reply) #13 Posted by RPDL on 08 Jul 2008 - 15:59: These laws are probably going to pass. Those corporations have more influence than the general population.

(2 replies) #14 Posted by Eis on 08 Jul 2008 - 16:28: It really sucks how the majority of the population has zero influence on what goes on in the world. All we can do is kick and scream when we watch this stuff happen.

#15 Posted by Vista on 08 Jul 2008 - 16:57: This is all we can do for now:
http://torrentfreak.com/how-to-encrypt-bittorrent-traffic/

#16 Posted by solardog on 08 Jul 2008 - 17:41: One more reason to hate Brussel sprouts.

(1 reply) #17 Posted by Andre on 08 Jul 2008 - 17:46: Whatever... pirating will never die.

(3 replies) #18 Posted by +Island Dog on 08 Jul 2008 - 18:45: One day people will understand that pirating is wrong.

#19 Posted by ozgeek on 08 Jul 2008 - 23:53: So you all are saying it is alight if I copy your game or software and put it on the internet so people can get it without paying you for it? You are essentially talking like pirates.

Sharing information on the internet is great but sharing pirated information is not.

#20 Posted by HenryC on 09 Jul 2008 - 01:03: How about throwing the one polluting the traffic as a result of lack of security! I got so tired of the lack of effort to secure servers and workstations that I now drive a dump truck for work. The polluters include banks and law offices as well as government offices (no need for security in these places ).

#21 Posted by Unplugged on 10 Jul 2008 - 08:05: If they keep invading peoples privacy for whatever reason people will just start encrypting all their traffic.

There is no law against it and if questioned by your ISP as to "why" you just say "To keep nosey bastards like you looking at my traffic"

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