BREAKING: Leaked UK government plan to create "Pirate Finder General" with power to appoint militias, create laws http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/19/br ... -uk-g.html


Britain's new Internet law -- as bad as everyone's been saying, and worse. Much, much worse.


Executioner

A source close to the British Labour Government has just given me reliable information about the most radical copyright proposal I've ever seen.

Secretary of State Peter Mandelson is planning to introduce changes to the Digital Economy Bill now under debate in Parliament. These changes will give the Secretary of State (Mandelson -- or his successor in the next government) the power to make "secondary legislation" (legislation that is passed without debate) to amend the provisions of Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1988).

What that means is that an unelected official would have the power to do anything without Parliamentary oversight or debate, provided it was done in the name of protecting copyright. Mandelson elaborates on this, giving three reasons for his proposal:

1. The Secretary of State would get the power to create new remedies for online infringements (for example, he could create jail terms for file-sharing, or create a "three-strikes" plan that costs entire families their internet access if any member stands accused of infringement)

2. The Secretary of State would get the power to create procedures to "confer rights" for the purposes of protecting rightsholders from online infringement. (for example, record labels and movie studios can be given investigative and enforcement powers that allow them to compel ISPs, libraries, companies and schools to turn over personal information about Internet users, and to order those companies to disconnect users, remove websites, block URLs, etc)

3. The Secretary of State would get the power to "impose such duties, powers or functions on any person as may be specified in connection with facilitating online infringement" (for example, ISPs could be forced to spy on their users, or to have copyright lawyers examine every piece of user-generated content before it goes live; also, copyright "militias" can be formed with the power to police copyright on the web)

Mandelson is also gunning for sites like YouSendIt and other services that allow you to easily transfer large files back and forth privately (I use YouSendIt to send podcasts back and forth to my sound-editor during production). Like Viacom, he's hoping to force them to turn off any feature that allows users to keep their uploads private, since privacy flags can be used to keep infringing files out of sight of copyright enforcers.

This is as bad as I've ever seen, folks. It's a declaration of war by the entertainment industry and their captured regulators against the principles of free speech, privacy, freedom of assembly, the presumption of innocence, and competition.

This proposal creates the office of Pirate-Finder General, with unlimited power to appoint militias who are above the law, who can pry into every corner of your life, who can disconnect you from your family, job, education and government, who can fine you or put you in jail.

More to follow, I'm sure, once Open Rights Group and other activist organizations get working on this. In the meantime, tell every Briton you know. If we can't stop this, it's beginning of the end for the net in Britain.

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/19/br ... -uk-g.html
http://www.disclose.tv/frameset.php?url ... -the-uk%2F

yep its madness and gonna get worse i'm using a tmobile dongle and the cencorship is atrocious. youtube is blocked by default. its a good job i know how to get round it.

Internet Oppression:

Still dont think it will be that bad, maybe im in denial, always have the shortwave sideband radio..

"Mandelson is a bitch".

Who does, he think he is?


I wonder if it will just drive the internet underground?

A new service set up by those, who want total freedom.It could be done imo
As for illegal stuff such as music and video sharing.
Thousands could set up a spare pc as a server,connected to other spare pcs adding to the server database.

False ip addresses, and Proxy servers will all help the cause for a new internet regime.

first off....i have respect for slush and bug


beginning of the end of what?

of our ten year orgy of stolen songs, movies, and pictures?

never in the history of man have we been so inconsiderate to artists (in democratic countries).

oppressing the Artistic Class of our society is a great way to decapitate all of the freedoms and human-rights advances that we all have fought so hard for in the last 300 years.

we have enjoyed the creativity of others for free for a decade.....and instead of admitting this dirty little fact to ourselves.....we are attacking the artists that just want to get payed for their property.

i am as guilty as everyone else (i have a couple of terra-bytes of stolen art, mostly movies)

that is the intent and purpose of all of this legislation....to stop the alarmingly increasing attitude of entitlement that we seem to be developing regarding our rights to access art for free.

if there is not a global set of rules regarding this art heist that is currently going on....than what is the incentive for future artists to continue creating it?

ask Lowsix how he would feel if someone came into his house and stole his pretty horse picture?

i am not being a prick here...........

i just think that we had our fun and if we have to start paying for art again....so be it

Source: http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/33741/

Is your sense of entitlement justified...........?

do you think that just because you have a computer....you deserve to have free unlimited access to the artistic toil of others?

this is the shit i have to put up with. by the c***ts at tmobile. you can get it removed but you have to provide a dna sample. only joking. in saying that. its getting as bad as china for real total cencorship.

Exactly, it is not the end of the internet only filesharing LIKE I SAID ON THE LAST THREAD GOING ON ABOUT DTV BEING SHUT DOWN. As for paying for art, I'd be glad to do so if it their business models and practices caught up with 2009. There is no chance in hell I'm paying a dollar a song just as there is no way in hell I am going to pay 20 dollars for 20 songs (CD). I've been participating in file sharing since it started. I've been on the internet a lot longer than the vast majority of people. I also make my living developing web-based software. Once again, DTV is in NO danger of being shut down and will not be any time in the near future (5-10 years). When it comes to the internet I'm an expert yet a lot of you don't seem to value the opinions of those who actually know what the hell they're talking about. Hence ridiculous theories regarding 2012 and the like. Filesharing is in danger, the internet is NOT. Websites can't just be magically shut down unless they're posting CP aka child pornography not to be confused with copyright. I'm really sick of trying to explain this, it's almost pointless trying to inject rational thoughts onto this forum sometimes.