The European Parliament has blocked a proposal that would clear the way for internet users to be disconnected on nothing more than accusations by copyright holders. Their amendment to a proposed telecom reform directive states “No restriction may be imposed on the fundamental rights and freedoms of end users, without a prior ruling by the judicial authorities.”
This language is clearly directed at legislation which lobbyists for the recording industry have been demanding for some time. In last year’s Digital Music Report the IFPI (an international equivalent of the RIAA) said “In 2008 [ISP Responsibility] must become a reality.”
They were referring to proposals in several countries that would force ISPs to disconnect customers who have been accused of copyright infringement via P2P network.
The legislation being considered, most notably French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s 3 strikes plan, hasn’t become a reality yet. But proponents of disconnecting internet service from accused copyright infringers are still trying hard to push the legislation through.
In France they have even gone so far as to suggest ISPs should be allowed to continue billing disconnected users, hoping to win support from that industry.
The debate among EU officials isn’t done yet either. The MEPs’ overwhelming vote to amend the proposed directive means they will attempt to reach some compromise with the Council of Ministers and European Commission.
Viviane Reding, commissioner for Information Society and Media and the EU’s highest telecom official, has come out in support of Parliament’s decision.
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Result for: lobbyists
Several months ago documents outlining a secret proposal from the US Trade Representative (USTR) for a new intellectual property treaty were leaked to the public. Although the few details we know about negotiahe Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) show it to be a collaboration between entertainment industry representatives and government officials in various countries. Unfortunately most of what’s been published so far is really just speculation.
In an attempt to bring these negotiations into the open for everyone, instead of just entertainment industry lobbyists, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act. But the office of the USTR has been less than forthcoming with information.
In fact they’re actively trying to block the release of almost all the information requested. So far they’ve turned over just 159 pages to the EFF, while insisting that 1300 pages need to be remain secret.
And what reason are they citing for the secrecy. Actually there are two reasons given. The first is mostly just laughable. They claim some of the documents would endanger national security if released. But the other claim seems to just miss the point. The USTR is claiming an exemption from turning documents over that would expose their “deliberative process.” If I’m not mistaken that’s exactly the point of the request.
“ACTA could lead to new invasive monitoring of Internet communications by your ISP and raises serious potential due process concerns for Internet users,” said EFF International Policy Director Gwen Hinze. “Because ACTA is to be adopted as an Executive Agreement, it will bypass normal processes of Congressional oversight. Therefore, it is crucial that citizens have access to information about its contents in a timely manner. The USTR’s decision to withhold documents that citizens are entitled to see as a matter of law prevents citizens from evaluating ACTA’s impact on their lives and expressing their opinions to their political leaders before it’s a fait accompli.”
Result for: lobbyists
Mixtape sites where you can share your music playlists are closing on extinction. RIAA drove Muxtape off in September and now the pressure from the lobbyists has made another mashup, Mixwit, to call it a day.
Mixwit was never sued by RIAA but it was just a matter of time. The service took the songs from the MP3 search engine Seeqpod, which would’ve led them into trouble with RIAA eventually.
Mixwit founder Michael Christoff was interviewed by TechCrunch, “we thought about continuing with mixwit as a company, but we could never get assurance that the future of mixwit would not be hurt by the perceived liabilities of its past so we decided it was time to to shut things down.”
There are a few mixtape sites still keep on rockin’, for example Mixaloo and Mixtube. Let us also hope that the upcoming music startups that consumers so much love won’t be haunted by the industry.
