free-speech
UK Bill Would Force ISPs to Block P2P Websites
Proposed amendment to the Digital Economy Bill threatens ISPs to “to prevent access to online locations specified in the order of the Court for the prevention of online copyright infringement,” but doesn’t require a verification process, resulting in a “serious chilling effect as ISP’s play (it) safe.” Conservative Lord Howard and Liberal Democrat Lord Clement Jones have proposed an amendment to the Digital Economy Bill that would cause a huge shift in the way ISPs are asked to deal with copyright infringement on their networks.
Continue reading »Cost-benefit analysis: net neutrality makes economic sense
Most arguments in favor of net neutrality regulation focus on fairness to the public. Definitions of “net neutrality” often characterize it as a principle that fosters free speech on the Internet. But a new study contends that barring ISPs from favoring certain content providers is more than a good concept—it’s also sound economic policy.
Continue reading »Jail Google execs, say Italian prosecutors
Italian authorities still want four Google executives behind bars. The four are accused of defamation and failure to comply with privacy laws in a case involving a cellphone video . In 2006 a high school student posted a three-minute clip of himself and three others on YouTube.
Continue reading »FOX FILMS: We Should Disconnect File-Sharers Like France
CEO Jim Gianopulos says punishing repeat offenders is necessary to create “a level playing field” for independent filmmakers, those, it claims, hurt hardest by piracy. Fox Filmed Entertainment CEO Jim Gianopulos believes the US should follow France’s lead and impose a “three-strikes” system disconnecting repeat file-sharers from the Internet. He said that internet piracy is the single biggest threat to the worldwide film industry, and that independent films are the hardest hit.
Continue reading »Verizon to Forward Warnings from RIAA, MPAA
Second largest phone company in the US agrees to forward notices of copyright infringement on behalf of the entertainment industry, perhaps hinting at a sign of things to come as ISPs slowly enter the world of content distribution. Perhaps hinting a sign of things to come, Verizon Communications will reportedly begin forwarding notices of copyright infringement to its customers at the behest of both the MPAA and RIAA. The moves is part of an unspecified “test” that will begin this Thursday, the test probably meaning to determine whether the benefits of helping protect copyrighted – and vis a vis possible future content distribution partnerships – outweigh the costs of angering customers.
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