The Film and TV community slam ISPs for not doing more to stop illegal file sharing
With an open letter to the mainstream UK papers, including the Times and the Guardian, the Film and TV community has slammed Internet Service Providers (ISPs) for not doing more to stop illegal file sharing.
With what seems to be some seriously flawed information, the letter urges the British Government to increase pressure on ISPs to wave their magic wands and remove the problem.
“Internet Service Providers have the ability to change the behaviour of those customers who illegally distribute content online. They have the power to make significant change and to prevent their infrastructure from being used on a wholesale scale for illegal activity.”
Open letter to the Guardian “Film and TV community call for ISP action against illegal file sharing” – 17th December 2008
TorrentFreak, a highly rated file sharing blog, responds with some damning questions regarding the assumptions the letter makes.
“Yet, if their stats on downloads are of questionable accuracy, it’s nothing compared to the power this group ascribe to the ‘almighty ISP’. They believe that ISPs have the power to stamp out file sharing, stopping people from downloading TV shows and movies; they just need a prod. In this belief they are sadly mistaken.
Again, recent news has shown how hard it is to control access to even one image in the UK, on a cut-and-dried subject like child pornography. Being able to determine if something is infringing copyright or not would require huge lists of content, and real-time examination of all Internet traffic. Not just deep packet inspection, but an all-invasive Big Brother monitoring system, beyond the dreams of even the most totalitarian dictator.”
Ben Jones, Torrent Freak – “UK TV/Film Stars Urge ISPs to Stop Piracy” – 16th December 2008
While some producers, directors and actors actually believe that filesharing tools help to increase the audience of films and TV-shows, this group clearly disagrees.
As Jesse Alexander, co-producer and writer for both Heroes and Lost, two of the most successful TV-series today, states “It certainly signals that there is a market for on-demand and interactive TV. People watching shows such as Lost and Heroes on BitTorrent is the present world reality. TV networks have to recognize this, give their viewers more ways to interact with the shows, and find ways to generate revenue from every member of the global audience.”
