Commentary

Hollywood Asks ISPs To Be Copyright Cops

Hollywood appears to be gearing up to renew its push for Internet service providers to take on the role of copyright police.

In its submission to the Obama administration's transition team, the Motion Picture Association of America proposes that Internet service providers filter material they deem infringing and that they threaten to cut off users suspected of piracy.

"Achieving inter-industry cooperation in the fight against online piracy, including through automated detection and removal of infringing content is imperative to curb the theft of online content, and is a priority of the MPAA and its member companies," the document states. "The MPAA views recent efforts by the governments of France and the United Kingdom to protect content online and facilitate inter-industry cooperation as useful models."

France and the U.K. are considering versions of a "three strikes" policy, where ISPs could disconnect users who are accused of piracy on more than one occasion. In the U.K., Virgin Media said this summer that it would start sending warning letters to users believed to be sharing pirated music files, and that it might in the future disconnect them.

The MPAA has made no secret of its hope that both Web filtering and three-strikes rules come to the U.S. But these proposals shouldn't gain any more traction now than in the past.

First of all, filters don't work. They can't tell when people are making fair use of copyrighted material, such as by criticizing or parodying it. Filters also are notoriously bad at screening out material that's been encrypted. Yes, ISPs might improve their filtering technology, but encryption techniques also will undoubtedly get better.

Additionally, ISPs also have very poor track records at identifying infringers. Earlier this year, researchers at the University of Washington reported that they had received hundreds of DMCA complaints wrongly accusing them of violating the copyright to a variety of books, movies and TV shows.

Aside from their dismal track records, there are good reasons why ISPs shouldn't get in the business of disconnecting Web users. People use the Web to access all kinds of material, ranging from emails to news to photos. Laws mandating that people stop using the Web would clearly raise huge First Amendment concerns. Likewise, laws that encourage ISPs to disconnect users also would threaten people's ability to access vital information.

3 comments about "Hollywood Asks ISPs To Be Copyright Cops".
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  1. George Linzer from Potomac River Media, December 10, 2008 at 5:26 p.m.

    Sorry, Wendy. While I agree that ISPs should not be the gatekeepers on this issue, I don't agree with your First Amendment argument. If it were known that those who choose to pirate IP were putting there right to use the Internet at risk, then such pirates are willing to risk this avenue of expression in their pursuit of entertainment. I would equate it to individuals who risk their right to vote (a right as fundamental to democracy as speech) by committing a felony.

  2. Jed Horovitz from Video Detective LLC, December 10, 2008 at 7:56 p.m.

    Wendy,
    While it is true that theft of copyrighted material via the Internet is a problem, we, as a country and economy, have so many much more important issues to deal with right now, this just shows how cynical the MPAA is about taking every opportunity to expand their members monopoly. Copyright holders already have an immense amount of power. There is no need to expand it to protect legitimate creators but only to further failing business models.

  3. David Peterson harvey from The Hidden Art, December 14, 2008 at 12:44 a.m.

    I don't agree with Jed's response that copyright holders wield an "... immense amount of power." We're a small company and don't wield much power in the protection of our copyrights except what the government can provide us. There is a gross misunderstanding of the industry; many people think production of media is solely the domain of big business. This is simply not true.

    However, I would not want ISPs to be gatekeepers for our content, unless we saw the content and asked them to remove it. I have had numerous problems uploading content our company created and owns due to ISPs who look at it and decide it's a copyright infringement. We own music, screenplay and video rights, and sometimes the entire copyrights to these pieces and constantly see them flagged or shut down on video sites because the ISPs think it looks too good to belong to a small company.

    So, for ISP policing, no thanks. I'll contact you if I need you.

    Peace,
    David Peterson Harvey
    Managing Director
    thehiddenart.com

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