Thursday, April 28, 2005

European Commission Discussion Foresees Collapse Broadband Industry Unless ISPs Police

The European Commission is joing the debate about online film distribution. On the so-called Europe Day at the coming Cannes Film Festival the Commission will organise a discussion on how to establish an online film market in Europe. At that event the Commission will also report on a preliminary discussion during which stakeholders gave some initial views on how to secure a healthy business environment for the (European) movie industry. Besides wondering how to come up with a legal offer that can compete with "illegal" file-sharing and a little politically correct musing on the public domain, this somewhat shady reporting seems pretty clear at what's really on the mind of the movie industry and followers:
Producers all called for a better co-operation with Internet providers (IPs). They pointed out that IPs should take more responsibility with respect to illegal downloading. The Commission insisted that so far the IPs relied on a free-rider model. If there would be no fair share of responsibility between the film industry and IPs it is foreseeable that the broadband industry will collapse.

The majority of participants agreed that a fine-tuned sanction system should be set up by IPs to prevent continued illegal downloading: letter of warning followed by downgrading access speed, followed by temporary blocking of access followed by termination of contract.
If true, that are some big ideas the big boys are playing and the European Commission flirting with:
  • collapse of the broadband industry, unless providers take their share of responsibility (That should probably be read: collapse unless providers held accountable)
  • providers should do the policing and sanctioning for the movie industry (That's their responsibility)
So, the broadband industry would collapse unless providers can be held accountable for not doing the dirty work of the movie industry. Is that what I'm reading? Or am I just cynical here? And where have I read that before?

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I read the somewhat confusing original article and it's not clear to me why the ISP's have to be worried about collapse? Do the participants envision suing them into submission? Or getting the EU to outlaw them? The only collapse I see is if they did somehow manage to stop downloading. Piracy is the killer app of broadband.

-K.

29/4/05 01:30  

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