Scandal is gossip made tedious by morality - Oscar Wilde
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Dutch government plans to ban filesharing websites
THE USUALLY PROGRESSIVE Netherlands government looks close to approving a change in law that it will outlaw filesharing websites.
According to the Torrentfreak website, the Dutch government is looking to crack down on what are viewed as 'pirate' websites, and sees dropping a clog firmly on top of them as the best solution.
The government plans were announced in a statement by State Secretary of Security and Justice Fred Teeven, who explained that media consumption had changed and as such, so should the laws that surround it.
"Downloading has long been illegal for games and other software, but will now also apply to such movies and music", he said, before adding that the changes brought the Netherlands into line with countries including France and the UK - which, let's face it, is never a good thing.
Fittingly then perhaps, the government looked to distance itself from the kind of policing on those shores, and Teeven added, "Consumers need not fear criminalisation".
So, instead of chasing after citizens the government prefers the idea of blocking websites, an act that could keep its people out of the 'piracy' equation and out of the sights of media owners and copyright holders. Blocks on websites, however are expected to be a last resort.
More immediate will be the removal of a tax on recording media, such as blank discs. Although this was used to compensate rights holders. The government said, "Taxes only lead to unnecessary or duplicate payment by the consumer." µ
Tags: Internet
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is that the Dutch have had progressive governments.
The few progressive convernments they had were largely absent in taking major decisions.
The single most enduring powerfactor in the dutch govenrment since whenever is a centrist Christian party.
All things other nations see as proof of 'progressiveness' (euthanasia, drugs, prostitution) were mostly caused by down to earth pragmatism.
It's cheaper to let people choose to die then keep them alive in a hospital.
It's cheaper to close an eye to drugs then put thousands in jail and fork out for coslty policing.
It's way more productive to legalize prostitution and get huge wads of taxcash.
We Dutch aren't progressive at all, never were. We are pragmatic.
And now its more pragmatic to join the european fray mobilized by the mediaindustry by modifying an old law
and ingnoring it again thereafter then be bothered by eurocrats.
Convict all copyright infringers - err, pirates !
By the way, have you ever sung "Happy Birthday" to someone ?
Of course you have.
Welcome to the piracy club, infringer.
They don't feel useful unless they're doing something. I would love it if a candidate for office came along who ran on the promise that he'll spend a lot of time sitting on his ass doing nothing. Then, at least, things couldn't get any worse. Hopefully, anyway. We don't need more laws, we need fewer laws.
Oh, I forgot to mention, I'm in the US, but I'm guessing things are bad in Europe too from what I've read. The tax organization here, called the IRS, seems to think it's job is to harass people and take their money. To be honest, I question the legality of what they're doing. We're supposed to be a nation of written law, and from a grammatical perspective the so-called income tax amendment doesn't actually contradict any previously stated laws in any way. It doesn't use the word repeal, so nothing was repealed. It doesn't add anything, except according to the courts, but again we're supposed to be a nation of WRITTEN law, not of judges.
Sorry to bring the US into this thread, but this topic has been on my mind for more than 15 years and my opinions haven't changed in the slightest. The Federal Reserve Bank is an illegal organization and needs to be kicked the hell out of the country. We don't need to pay off the National Debt because it's based off of illegal concepts related to so-called paper money. This country went off course in 1912 or so with the passage of the Federal Reserve Act and badly needs to get back on track.
This is unlikely to get through in that form.
And it's a bit ironic since their (the big parties) slogan and campaigns are all about 'freedom of the internet is needed and net neutrality is a fundamental good' and empty soundbites like that while they eagerly sign ACTA and crap like that in the backrooms.
And cutting a the tax on something? Dream on, that train only has forwards and no reverse.
It's only going to get worse for pirates as all civilized societies increase punishment for piracy.
The government could just stay away from this whole thing. No taxes on blank media, no restrictions on web sites, no bureaucrats paid to manage either of these things, lower taxes. Everybody wins, except the bureaucrats who will need to find productive employment elsewhere.
The media companies will face higher piracy, true, but I think most people who pirate music would live without it rather than pay for it, so there are no real sales lost anyway.
Since copyright works are protected, they should shut down the pirate sites and convict all who pirate and facilitate piracy.