Peter Mandelson has been
explaining in this morning's Times why he is pushing the UK government towards a 3 strikes law.
"The Government decided to reopen the issue of suspending internet connections as a sanction of last resort against the most egregious offenders for two simple reasons. First, taking something for nothing, without permission, and with no compensation for the person who created and owns it, is wrong. Simple as that. I was shocked to hear that as much as half of all internet traffic in the UK is for the carriage of unlawful content...
Second, our creative businesses drive much of our economy... we should create a regulatory environment where they can operate without having to deal with illegal competition.
Crucially, if these changes can give the creative businesses and their partners the space to develop new business models that support more new artists, acts and films, then surely we are duty bound to consider them. "
You have to hand it to the entertainment industry lobbyists - they're good at getting influencial politicians fighting their cause. Ruled out by the European Parliament, mulitple jurisdictions all over the world, the Council of Europe, dicta in the the European Court of Justice Promisicae case, and even declared unconstitutional by the highest court in France, 3 strikes gets a new lease of life in the UK, where it had been ruled out by the prime minister, all because music industry executives manage to organise a friendly chat with Peter Mandelson. I do agree with him on one point though and have been saying it for several years:
"Provide customers with a good quality, cheap, safe and efficient experience, and they will ditch illegal downloading."
Convenience beats free every time.
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