Thursday, June 18, 2009

TheTorrents and ISPs Dilema

An extremely interesting story has popped up over at Tom's Hardware. In Norway, one of the hotbeds for internet and intellectual property law, may see a landmark trial soon. Norway's largest ISP is being sued because they refuse to block the controversial file sharing website, The Pirate Bay. The suit is being brought by, among other agencies, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). No, I didn't know there was such a thing either.

Let's pretend that the IFPI wins. This would essentially lay the groundwork for any company forcing an internet service provider to block anything that is against their interests. Sound familiar (I'm looking at you, China)? I could rant about this for some time, but I think this quote from the ISP being sued wraps it up nicely:
“This would be the same as demanding that the postal service should open all letters, and decide which ones should be delivered.”
Indeed.
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 18, 2009 at 2:57 PM

    IFPI already sued and won against The Pirate Bay in Swedish court.

    Here's the sad thing: The Pirate Bay doesn't do anything Google can't.

    http://www.googleguide.com/advanced_operators.html#filetype

    So what's next? Search Engines?

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  2. spacecatazJune 18, 2009 at 4:09 PM

    Was that indeed the IFPI that won the recent battle in Sweden, or another organization? ...or am I thinking of a different battle altogether? The most recent is being appealed by TPB.

    Either way, the case I am thinking about had an interesting turn of events that is much related to your point about Google: when asked how the torrent technology works, the plaintiff could not answer. That's right; they are suing despite the fact that they don't understand what Pirate Bay does.

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