You learn things in this job. One thing in particular is that whenever the Government does something to try and stop piracy, Foxtel is there to cheer them on. The passage of the site blocking Bill this evening means that the pay TV giant has been handed an early legislative Christmas present, and it took the time to celebrate as soon as the vote was over.
Foxtel issued the following statement because whatever:
Foxtel today congratulated the Government and Opposition for coming together to help fight the scourge of online piracy. The Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill 2015 will give copyright owners and licensees the ability to seek injunctions to block access to overseas-based sites that steal content and profit from selling advertising around it.
Foxtel Chief Executive, Richard Freudenstein said, “We are pleased that the Government and Opposition have taken strong action to combat online piracy. They recognise that, not only is piracy theft and therefore morally wrong, it is harmful to Australia’s creative communities and to businesses that employ hundreds of thousands of Australians.
“These offshore sites are not operated by noble spirits fighting for the freedom of the internet, they are run by criminals who profit from stealing other people’s creative endeavours.
“This Bill is modelled on legislation that works effectively in other jurisdictions such as the UK, Europe and Singapore. There have been wild claims that it will create an “internet filter”, “break” the internet or prevent legitimate uses of the internet. International experience shows that this is simply nonsense and fear mongering – last time I looked the UK had a perfectly well functioning internet.
“We look forward to seeing the legislation put into effect both to demonstrate that these fears are unfounded and to begin reducing the levels of illegal downloading in Australia.
“This Bill is part of a series of measures being put in place by government and industry to educate the public about the problems created by online piracy and where they can find legitimate ways to get access to the content they love,” Mr Freudenstein concluded.
If you read it aloud, you can almost hear the part where they popped the champagne corks.