Broadband News
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Don't exclude disconnecting pirates, Sky tells Government
30 Sep 2009 | 15.27 Europe/London
Sky has broken ranks with leading rival ISPs BT and TalkTalk by revealing it thinks disconnection should not be excluded as a possible answer to piracy.
On the day the Government’s consultation on illegal file sharing closed, Sky supported the general direction the Government is taking and emphasised that it, unlike rivals, has an ability to see the issues from both sides of the fence; as an ISP and a rights holder.
Following on from submissions by BT and TalkTalk which separately labelled plans to cut off or throttle the connections of persistent illegal downloaders as ‘unworkable’ and ‘misguided’, Sky’s general message is more in tune with the Government’s tougher stance outlined by Lord Mandelson.
It agrees that in regard to ‘technical measures’ (a euphemism widely used for throttling and disconnection) it would not be prudent to exclude disconnection.
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a group which has extensive sport and entertain rights whose revenues are threatened by illegal downloading and streaming, Sky is offering a very different opinion to its rivals who believe education is the key.
Picking up the tab
However, where Sky does agree with its rivals is that the Government has got it wrong when it talks about the cost of protecting copyright being borne at the point at where the loss is incurred.
As this would effectively mean the ISPs paying to police the net, or at least pay most of the bill, Sky is very clear that it believes the Government needs to rethink this stance. Copyright owners, it insists, should pick up the bulk of the bill for protecting their material.
BT has already questioned ISPs picking up the tab for protecting against piracy, claiming it could cost £1m per day. The figures have since been questioned by copyright owners, most notably the BPI which represents the music industry.
The key for the future, Sky points out, is for the ultimate sanction of throttling or disconnection to only be considered when the case against a repeat offender has been proven and an open appeal process is made available to alleged transgressors.
It also believes that in the long term the issue will only be solved when copyrighted material is offered in such a way that it becomes so affordable and convenient that the risk of downloading material illegally is not worth taking.
On the day the Government’s consultation on illegal file sharing closed, Sky supported the general direction the Government is taking and emphasised that it, unlike rivals, has an ability to see the issues from both sides of the fence; as an ISP and a rights holder.
Following on from submissions by BT and TalkTalk which separately labelled plans to cut off or throttle the connections of persistent illegal downloaders as ‘unworkable’ and ‘misguided’, Sky’s general message is more in tune with the Government’s tougher stance outlined by Lord Mandelson.
It agrees that in regard to ‘technical measures’ (a euphemism widely used for throttling and disconnection) it would not be prudent to exclude disconnection.
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a group which has extensive sport and entertain rights whose revenues are threatened by illegal downloading and streaming, Sky is offering a very different opinion to its rivals who believe education is the key.
Picking up the tab
However, where Sky does agree with its rivals is that the Government has got it wrong when it talks about the cost of protecting copyright being borne at the point at where the loss is incurred.
As this would effectively mean the ISPs paying to police the net, or at least pay most of the bill, Sky is very clear that it believes the Government needs to rethink this stance. Copyright owners, it insists, should pick up the bulk of the bill for protecting their material.
BT has already questioned ISPs picking up the tab for protecting against piracy, claiming it could cost £1m per day. The figures have since been questioned by copyright owners, most notably the BPI which represents the music industry.
The key for the future, Sky points out, is for the ultimate sanction of throttling or disconnection to only be considered when the case against a repeat offender has been proven and an open appeal process is made available to alleged transgressors.
It also believes that in the long term the issue will only be solved when copyrighted material is offered in such a way that it becomes so affordable and convenient that the risk of downloading material illegally is not worth taking.
is that not an obvious move for mudoch's bunch?
why would James & co want to rub up media suppliers in favour of us so called criminals!!!!!
as soon as all this kicked up i knew Sky would instantly be onside with the big media sharks, just the same as i knew Mr Mandelson would too just because of his bilderberg ties are more like pupet strings.
totally pointless discussing it as we all know in the end what THEY think is right & proper is what get action irrespective of weather thousands disaggree!!
we do not live in a TRUE democracy
we live in a dictatorship with nice smiling faces who represent it & sell it as a democracy!!!
you may think you are given a fair choice but it actually turns out that you voted/supported on a bunch of people who ALL had the same adgenda's any way.
Any one can see how easily we all fall for good sales & marketing so it aint no wonder they all use it to their advantage!
we have done this to ourselves, we are all criminals, terrorists or whatever label they care to put on us it just depends on how well the story was sold to us in the first place.
05 Oct 2009 | 16.43 Europe/London