K-Rudd to Take On Pirates, May Believe Himself To Be A Ninja

hmmm, let me think about this for a moment. Rudd (yet again) takes up a policy that has no real purpose. Maybe he should actually start focusing on some real policies instead of this popularist crap.

Gizmodo, really. We readers and advertisers demand better from you than this poor editorial.

Where was policy in Krudd’s election platform? There was no mention of it.

He doesn’t have a mandate for this sort of action. Clearly he’s is a schill for the recording cartels.

There are all sorts of problems with this plan.

The cable ISPs have never been able to stamp out spoofing on their networks.

All ISPs AFAIK send out Wi-Fi ADSL modems/gateways set to broadcast SSID and insecure without so much as WEP. Many of the remaining WLANs are running insecure WEP becuase users are poorly schooled in setting them up and it’s often too difficult. And even WPA has problems. So there is no way to ensure that someone isn’t having their IP address hijacked.

And then there is the issue of identifying people allegedly downloading infringing intellectual property. How do you do that? No one has been able to devise a way to do that which is foolproof. MediaDefender and its ilk are under a cloud for their illegal actions as self-proclaimed private investigators without a license. And they often charge people who have not done anything wrong.

And three strikes and you’re out? Gizmodo, are you serious? What’s fair in that? What qualifies as a “strike”? Three alleged downloads?

Where’s someone’s chance to stand up in court and have their say? To have the plaintiffs prove their case? What about due process? How about innocent unless proven guilty? What about balance of convenience? Balance of evidence?

Just because someone alleges you have downloaded something you shouldn’t have doesn’t mean you have.

Further, Australian copyright law allows for parallel importation of product if it isn’t available here already.

This policy is another example of Krudd’s me-tooism. He has no original agenda (look at the gabfest he’s arranging because he has no policies and the fact that he’s pumping inflation and interest rates by giving away $31b in tax cuts even though few people actually voted for him on that?) And this latest plan is just a way to latch on to someone else’s ideas, even if they are unworkable, draconian, counter-productive and irrelevant.

I’m probably the only person that thinks this is a great move from Rudd. But then, I’m a direct victim of piracy.

If you were about to lose your job because the company you work for was being eroded by piracy would you think twice before hitting the download button?

That’s the position I’m in. I’m on the verge of having to let two people go because illegal downloads and piracy have taken so much of my business.

Unlike the post above, I think people doing it don’t give a crap about the law or whether they are breaking it. Nor do they give any thought to the people this IS affecting. The trouble is that today, most people want everything immediately (and often for nothing), regardless of the costs or hurt it may cause others.

Normandy: With the amount of money lost to piracy and the amount of businesses/people this affects, this IS something that needs to be actioned.

Go Rudd!!! It would be nice not to have to lose good workers, and who knows.. maybe even to give someone else a job.

Do you realise that the TV shows will also be covered by this legislation?

TV shows are copyright as well… and you won’t be able to download those legally either.

That’s not to suggest that it’s legal to download them now.

:-)

What about TV shows that the Aussie TV stations do not telecast and will never telecast because the are science fiction. A few examples

Stargate Atlantis
Kyle XY
Torchwood (3 episodes them cut.)
Dr Who (this is usually telecast but 3 or 4 months later)
Smallville.
Journeyman (3 episodes them cut.)
Battlestar Galactica.

If they never plan to telecast them is it piracy???

Nick: “The trouble is that today, most people want everything immediately (and often for nothing), regardless of the costs or hurt it may cause others.”

In Australia thats usually the only way to get stuff. Its not always a choice to do it for nothing, but its because there is not other way. Also, people will go for free if its the same product as a paid version (eg, music). If the media got tv to us within a week, and we had an advertised supported music download system, piracy wouldn’t be eliminated, but it would definately help. I would use the music system, and I would love tv with America.

Its because the Australian media is tightened to the hilt on rules and regulations (starting to loosen granted) and we get treated like a backwater nation.

The issue doesn’t wholly lie with the consumer, it lies with the media, content suppliers, etc.

Chris: In Australia, it’s not always the only way.. these things are released on DVD? Rent or buy it. At least then you are supporting Australian businesses. I agree the media providers are partly to blame, they are so slack. But it’s really not much different to anywhere else. When I was in the UK, Neighbours used to be 6 months behind Australia. But at that time, there wasn’t the internet around to make it available to everyone, and so no-one whinged about it.

Nivek, I can only assume your free-ride under the Liberal Losers is coming to an end, and you don’t like the idea of having to work and pay for a living. Why exactly are we in this mess at the moment.. 11 years of Liberal leadership, and now Labour have to dig us out of their hole.

Grow up. It’s about time the government sorted you pirates out. If you don’t like what the media are doing, write to them and lobby them to get their shows online. But quit whining about your free downloads coming to an end.