A respected torrent blogger and file-sharing journalist has listed five reasons why UK downloaders will not face a ban.
Speaking on his own blog, Matt Mason calls the original Times story about the Government’s proposal to ban pirates as “complete balderdash”, listing five main reasons why:
- The paper is but a draft consultation paper - the equivalent of ‘junk mail’ for Downing Street.
- The process is technically unworkable. ISPs will simply not be able to check the contents of every single packet carried over their network.
- It would be impossible to tell the difference between legal and illegal activities.
- The very idea goes against the European Court’s ruling that member states are not obligated to disclose information about suspected file sharers, and also contravenes Article 10 of the European freedom of expression laws.
- Wi-Fi piggybacking will make it all but impossible to be 100 per cent certain about who is downloading what in the first place.
Burning down libraries
According to Mr Mason, the whole idea makes about as much sense as “burning down libraries to protect the publishing industry.” He also goes on to question the validity of the entertainment’s oft-repeated claim that it is ‘losing millions’ because of file sharing. In Mr Masons view CD sales are falling simply because “nobody uses them anymore.”
Matt Mason regularly writes for TorrentFreak and other online publications regarding the issue of piracy and file-sharing. In addition, he is also the author of a book, The Pirate’s Dilemma: How Youth Culture Reinvented Capitalism, in which he analyses the way in which underground youth movements are turned into global business opportunities, which explores how online piracy actually facilitates choice.
