Digital Economy Bill Threatens Internet Users
Considering that lobbyists are serious about promoting the “stop piracy” aspect of the Digital Economy Bill, it makes us wonder where the part about actually protecting the sales of actual media products comes into the picture.
The most heatedly debated portion of the Digital Economy Bill involves control of internet usage and granting the government powers to access and open activities of users online. This will mean that ISP providers would have to invest millions in monitoring the activities of their millions of subscribers –the same goes for mobile network operators as well.
Even worse is the fact that even secure data packets would be subject to scrutiny –private emails and other correspondences will no longer be safe.
This alone takes apart the privacy to life, home and communication that people need in order to live securely.
Anyway, while being able to enforce rules about file sharing does seem like it will help curb piracy on some levels; it will not keep the creative industry afloat. To actually calculate the value of pirated media as lost revenue is actually a moot point that many legislators fail to recognize.
First off, pirated media has no value, while some internet users may have to pay a small fee to access illegal content, most of it, in general is free –which is why pirated content is so rampant. What lobbyists do not see here is that the “free” label appeals to everyone –including people who have no intention to purchase the product in the first place.
At the same time, those with intent to purchase; would still buy even if they already have a pirated copy of the media. In this sense, no revenue is lost.
To say that people have no right to access media that is illegally distributed is a just thing, but to enforce strict control of the internet is a completely different matter.
Get to understand more about the workings of the Digital Economy Bill at Computer Weekly.
