Results tagged “illegal” from Birmingham Mail - Technobabble

PEOPLE who repeatedly swap and download copyrighted films and music could have their internet accounts suspended, after the Government toughened up plans to fight online piracy.

Stephen Timms, minister for Digital Britain, said the proposals previously being considered by the Government, which only went as far as possibly restricting users' broadband speed, "could delay action, impacting unfairly upon rights holders".

He unveiled new plans designed to allow "swifter and more flexible measures" to tackle illegal file-sharing, including temporarily suspending an individual's internet account or blocking access to download sites.

A REPORT from a 15-year-old boy seems to have created quite a stir.

Finance giant Morgan Stanley took it upon themselves to publish as an 'authoritative piece of work' an article written by a lad they had in on work experience.

Matthew Robson, from London, was asked to describe how he and his friends used technology, and basically stated the obvious - although possibly not obvious to extremely well paid accountants who probably see their children once a week.

The findings of 'how teenagers consume media' included the shocking revelation that teenagers are "very reluctant" to pay to download music from the internet, most using illegal file sharing.

Internet users who illegally download music and films will be encouraged to change their ways before they face legal action.

The Digital Britain white paper makes a distinction between otherwise law-abiding citizens and the "hard-core" who "wilfully continue unlawful activity".

This means the authorities will not be devoting their energies to teenagers who use file-sharing websites to download a couple of their favourite songs from their bedrooms.

Unions and businesses from the creative industries called for Government action today to require internet service providers (ISPs) to issue sanctions against customers who repeatedly download illegal content.

The London conference, called the Future of the Creative Economy, was led jointly by the UK Film Council and the Federation of Entertainment Unions, and hosted by Bafta.

It culminated in the launch of a set of recommendations to Government on a system for tackling the "damage" caused to the UK economy by illegal file-sharing.

The coalition called for the Government to require ISPs to use their direct relationship with their consumers to send notices to those customers who illegally file share and to introduce sanctions for those who ignore such notices and repeatedly download illegal content.

The recommendations included the statement: "We support early indications of Government's thinking that call on ISPs to send warning notices to offenders as a first stage of tackling the problem.

"We strongly recommend an additional option whereby, where multiple educational warnings are ignored by consumers, a graduated series of technical solutions are used which prevent further illegal activity, with a clear appeals process in place to protect consumers."