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Rights watchdog fights on against the DEA
DIGITAL RIGHTS WATCHDOG the Open Rights Group (ORG) will continue it's fight against the Digital Economy Act (DEA) after two Internet service providers (ISPs) lost their high court judicial review.
The ORG reflected on the disappointing news that British Telecom (BT) and Talktalk failed in their challenge to the DEA. The judicial review sought to stop the UK Government's plan to harass alleged filesharers with mass notification warning letters.
ORG commentator Peter Bradwell discussed some of the knock-on implications the high court's ruling will have for privacy and freedom of expression and said the battle will continue.
"So while there is disappointment for those of us campaigning against this kind of flawed policy, it swerves the question of whether these were good or bad decisions," wrote Bradwell. "And we're working harder than ever," he added.
Bradwell said the ORG can continue the fight and battle for privacy and free speech. He picked up and echoed some important points that Talktalk had highlighted in its response to the failed challenge. The ISP said it was disappointed that the judge said he could not uphold its claim because the harm caused by the DEA couldn't be quantified yet.
In other words, the judge's ruling isn't a comment on the DEA. No judgment was given on how good or bad the court thought the ill-conceived DEA policy was. It judge only ruled that the DEA didn't violate any European legislation.
Talktalk has already said it will appeal and BT might follow suit. But the ORG sees the judge's reticence to rule on the impact of the DEA in the future as a potential battleground for ongoing legal battles after the full idiocy of the DEA becomes apparent. µ
Tags: Software
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It's pretty obvious that all countries are cracking down on piracy be it on the sea or in cyberspace. You had better be willing to deal with the punishment if that's you way of life.
Then why don’t they call the cops? Why fuck around with “notification letters” and disconnection?
If you catch someone shoplifting, do you get your lawyers to send them cease-and-desist letters? Do you try to get them barred from using public transport to get to your store? No, you turn them over to the cops and get the justice system to throw the book at them, end of story.
But nobody does this with file-sharing copyright infringement cases. Ergo, no “crime” is involved. QED.
"The scum leading the dumb
For the clueless, it's a crime to illegally download and/or distribute copyright protected works. The judicial system prosecutes people who can't live within the laws of society."
That is a very poorly constructed straw man argument. Judges have been throwing out the VAST majority of these cases due to lack of evidence on the part of the prosecution.
...as I unzip my trousers, I see see you head move swiftly towards me...
x
For the clueless, it's a crime to illegally download and/or distribute copyright protected works. The judicial system prosecutes people who can't live within the laws of society.