From 38 Degrees
Yesterday, Peter Mandelson backed down from his draconian plans to disconnect millions of suspected filesharers. Plans for sudden disconnection with no right of appeal have been dropped. Instead, Mandelson now proposes to cut filesharers off only after multiple warnings.
Our campaign has helped to secure these promising developments but it's not perfect - help us decide together what to do next by taking part in our quick poll now. It will take less than a minute: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/Mandy-what-next
Announcing the revised plans, Mandelson explained, "If we reach the point of suspension for an individual, they will be informed in advance, having previously received two notifications - and will have the opportunity to appeal". [1] Mandelson has backed down a long way but he is still proposing to disconnect persistent file sharers, after they have received three warnings. People that are disconnected will have a right of appeal, although it's still not clear if appeals will by heard by a judge in court.
Together, we've forced Mandelson to abandon his original plans. The Queen's Speech, the first step for his revised plans becoming law, is just weeks away. We need to decide together if there is more campaigning to be done on his revised proposals.
Others are expressing concern about Mandelson's new plans. Industry Service Providers (ISPs) like TalkTalk and BT are warning that the costs of these measures will exceed the amount that they save [2] and disconnecting people from the internet is an infringement of human rights [3], whilst some in the music industry are warning that the best way to tackle filesharing is "education, not persecution". [4]
So what should happen next? Let's decide together - answer the poll now: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/Mandy-what-next
Thanks for getting involved,
David, Hannah, Johnny, Nina, Warren and the 38 Degrees team.
Notes:
[1] See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/oct/28/mandelson-date-blocking-filesharers-connections
[2] See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/oct/28/costs-piracy-filesharing-mandelson
[3] See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/29/talktalk-threatens-legal-action-mandelson
[4] See: http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6894090.ece