Panorama - Illegal Downloading

[Beach Hut]

Very interesting program about the potential new laws if people persistently download music or films illegally and eventually you may lose your internet altogether.

So let's have a poll..............

 

[Tomnorthi]

This will result in more people hijacking others wireless networks, then innocent people being accused of illegal downloading.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

It's theft?

 

[Bozza]

I'm not watching but assume it's along the lines of the "3 strikes and you're out" stuff? If so, that's kinda old news - it's been debated for quite a while now and there is a lot of opposition to it. Indeed I believe Brown has even spoken on the subject, saying that internet account termination would be disproportionate to the harm.

In short - won't happen.

 

[Norman Potting]

I thought that home taping had already killed music, or was it Simon Cowell?

 

[auschr]

illegal downloading is immoral and highly unethical

 

[vegster]

I use Spotify to get round it. I don't actually download and store on my hard drive so I'm not breaking the law and I don't clog my pc up with thousands of files either, simples.

 

[RM-Taylor]

I download three or four albums a week, I don't give a f***

 

[beorhthelm]

wheres the fence sitting options? i agree that downloading is illegal and should be policed where possible and practical, but i certainly dont believe someone should be cut off the internet for it. do we cut peoples electricity because they might be receive stolen goods?

its not for the ISPs to police the internet and it isnt the place of govenrment to make legislation to protect an out of date business model. its not even practical, you can easily circumvent any packet inspection by encrypting - oh yeah, thats what this ends in, the ISP, Media companies and Government ALL being allowed access all your internet transmissions. no risks of abuse there then.

 

[mcshane in the 79th]

Video killed the radio star

 

[Father Jack]

i use itunes for my music because i dont want the viruses that come with file sharing, but it is too expensive, if you could buy music for 10p a track then i really dont think there would be a debate to have.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

It is unusual that someone who is generally a law abiding citizen feels fine downloading stuff for free.

Would you walk into a shop, pick something up and walk out without paying?

 

[Gwylan]

wheres the fence sitting options? i agree that downloading is illegal and should be policed where possible and practical, but i certainly dont believe someone should be cut off the internet for it. do we cut peoples electricity because they might be receive stolen goods?

its not for the ISPs to police the internet and it isnt the place of govenrment to make legislation to protect an out of date business model. its not even practical, you can easily circumvent any packet inspection by encrypting - oh yeah, thats what this ends in, the ISP, Media companies and Government ALL being allowed access all your internet transmissions. no risks of abuse there then.

Virgin is already doing this

Virgin Media starts monitoring customers' downloads News - PC Advisor



It should be pointed out that there's lots of opposition to the "Three strikes" law, which seems mainly to be one of Mandelson's pet projects. However, the French already have it, so it's an impossibility.

 

[willyfantastic]

i only download tv shows that are shown earlier in the us. i pay my tv licensing fee and pay for sky so i dont really see the problem, its just more convenient for me. stephen fry does the same so im definitely in the clear

i dont like their idea of trying to buttfuck people with their ridiculous laws and massive invasion of privacy, plus if you REALLY want to download illegally you can just pay to re-route through countries that have no downloading laws, for about a fiver a month.

 

[Last Summer]

Loved talk talk's comments... "we wont cut anyone off without a court order"... clever advertising me thinks!

 

[Leicester Seagull]

I say no for a plethora of reasons, the main one being that regardless of whether it is morally correct or not, mass file-sharing is a reality and it's not going anywhere. Far from it.

It's really just a question of how long it will be until the industry truly faces this reality and adapts to find new ways of getting money from music fans. As opposed to these pathetic scare tactics which will achieve nothing apart from further alienate the consumer.

Somebody above mentioned spotify, I'm people here also use last.fm; these are just the beginning. In the mean time, it's clear that lots of people are losing a lot of money, and as someone who hopes to work in the sound and music industry, I admit that's scary. However, people will always make music and I'm sure it's only a matter of time before we see many more new ideas to profit from it like the ones I mentioned.

 

[Juan Albion]

I only use itunes these days but to a certain extent free downloading is good for the artists if it is controlled. I get an email every week offering me two free downloads, which I usually take up. They are often by artists I'm unfamiliar with but by getting the free downloads it gives me a chance to sample and then buy the whole album if I like it.

 

[SUIYHP]

Without the money from internet downloads, singers like Beyonce and lady gaga will not be able to pay for their gigantic deluxe private jets but instead will have to make do with the ordinary sized deluxe private jet that lacks a swimming pool! Free downloading is terrible!

In honesty, its fair if companies want the customer to pay for the song they want to listen to, but this shouldn't mean they have to be really tight so that they cant even play a bit of the song on youtube (Im looking at Warner Bros here...)

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Without the money from internet downloads, singers like Beyonce and lady gaga will not be able to pay for their gigantic deluxe private jets but instead will have to make do with the ordinary sized deluxe private jet that lacks a swimming pool! Free downloading is terrible!

Whether or not you think they get paid too much is neither here nor there.

What about actors getting paid obscene amounts for a film? Or Brighton players earning more than our Prime Minister? What about Crozier taking home £1m plus for his work at Royal Mail?

It is still theft.

 

[xenophon]

Damn! I missed this Panorama programme. Ah well, I'll just have to download the torrent from BtJunkie later