The Business Software Association (BSA) recently released a statement about actions it thinks should be taken against online pirates. And guess what? The BSA is for the “termination of Internet service for individual repeat offenders.” To be fair, the BSA goes on to qualify its stance, and it’s a head and shoulders above the Frances of the world which disconnect users for merely being accused of copyright infringement. The BSA says that internet termination should only occur
Through a decision by an administrative or judicial entity, provided such entity gives all parties an opportunity to be heard and to present evidence, and that the decision can be appealed before an impartial court. Before an order becomes final, parties shall have the opportunity to have the order stayed pending appeal to courts.
That’s due process, which is a good thing. France’s law is so nuts because it threatens to cut off someone’s internet connection just because the person was accused of piracy. The latest revamp to the law is to have a judge quickly look at evidence (spending no more than 20 minutes) and come to a decision. That’s ridiculous.
But even this kinder, gentler internet termination policy doesn’t quite make sense. Some people (read: lobbyist groups) seem to forget that the internet is not just a tool for getting media, just as torrent sites are not merely sources of illegal materials. If someone is convicted of being a pickpocket, we don’t cut off his hand.
The other issue is that it doesn’t really make sense for lobbyist groups like the BSA to try and get ISPs to fight their users. And that’s exactly what termination policies do. The BSA essentially wants your ISP to include clauses which make it easier for them to take action against pirates. When those actions involve throwing you off the internet, your ISP has a conflict of interest because it makes money from serving you bandwidth.
