[CAnet - news] Forget about Big Brother -- Watch out for Big Entertainment

For more information on this item please visit my blog at 
http://billstarnaud.blogspot.com/
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 [Some excerpts from Gibbs Backspin column-- BSA]

http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2007/070907backspin.html?rlh=0709gibb
s1&

Last week I discussed the doublethink and newspeak of "the Campaign to
Protect America," an initiative launched by the Coalition Against
Counterfeiting and Piracy as well as the shameful strong-arm bullying
tactics of the Recording Industry Association of America.

Here's the worst case scenario: Consumer PCs would, by law, be directly
monitored by ISPs to ensure compliance, and the legal consequences for any
attempt to circumvent mointoring would make the punishment for murder look
like a slap on the wrist.

... in Australia there is an example of a real foray by Big Entertainment
into the lives of consumers. The customers of an Australian ISP, Exetel,
have all audio and video content in their accounts automatically deleted
every night. Exetel has been doing this for over a year and their customers
are informed when they sign up that this will happen.

But what really matters is why the company is doing this: According to
Exetel's FAQ, the reason for the nightly purge isn't anything as sensible as
space conservation, but what it says is its "hard approach to copyright
issues." 

AT&T is on record that it plans to develop and deploy mechanisms for finding
and removing copyrighted material from its network. If AT&T does do such a
thing, then it is certain that every other major ISP, like the lemmings they
are, will follow suit and the consequences will be tremendous.

For a start the RIAA's campaign to prosecute people they believe to be
infringing on member's copyrights will escalate because it can demand that
the ISPs inform them of infringements they discover. The cash flow from the
extortion will ensure enough cash flow to keep the RIAA's legal machine in
top gear.
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