The INQUIRER: Because it's already tomorrow and yesterday somewhere
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UK Government does not deny extra-judicial website blocking
THE UK GOVERNMENT has not denied that it has been talking about extra-judicial website blocking and its big content friends are declining to tell The INQUIRER anything.
This has been the somewhat unsurprising outcome of The INQUIRER's investigation into the murky claims about secretive extra-judicial web blocking schemes. Extra-judicial sounds very dramatic because it is a phrase often used to refer to the execution without due process of people by state actors, those being extra-judicial killings.
But extra-judicial in this case just means actions not defined under law and is a sort of gentlemen's agreement. Gentlemen's agreement aptly describes much of the UK's creaking 1,000 year old constitutional law, but that's another matter entirely.
What the Pirate Party UK has alleged is that the UK Government, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) are conniving to force Internet Service Providers to block websites that the creative industry types - big content to you and we here at The INQUIRER - don't like.
So, being investigative types we asked the alleged connivers and the UK Government's Department of Culture, Media and Sport said, "The government has brought together key players from the digital economy to facilitate talks on issues affecting the whole sector. We are keen to see industry taking the lead on developing solutions for issues affecting the sector." No denial there then.
We then went on to ask the BPI and it said, "we'll decline to comment." Then we asked the MPAA and a nice person there said, "I think there was only one meeting and I think it was about generalities but the person you need to speak to is travelling at the moment." We hope it is somewhere nice.
So there you have it, a minor political party alleges that the UK Government and big media are making back room deals, and none of them are willing to deny it. The truth is out there. µ
Tags: Software
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But then they can use some vague terminology to retract your business license and right to run an ISP.
It's very hard to win in a game of playing dirty when one of the players has all the means and power and control and writes the rules and has the means to then enforce them.
Doesn't mean you should not try though, sometimes in their eagerness the opponent shoots himself in the foot because he doesn't know what weapon he's wielding of the many he holds.
The only way to deal with people this contemptible is to treat them with the contempt they deserve.
If TPTB refuse to follow the rule of law and instead are determined to lie, cheat and steal to get what they and their fat-cat cronies want, then why not simply fight back in the same underhanded way?
Suppose the MAFIAA demand that $ISP block a website. So $ISP just says "done it!" How are the MAFIAA going to know any different? And even if they suspect, how are they going to prove it? Its $ISPs word against theirs, and they have not exactly demonstrated what I believe the kids these days call "M4D 1337 SK1LLZ", have they?
Its got to be better than trying to reason with them. Look how well that has worked.