UKNews - BPI taken To Task For Atacking ISP Companies

[GhostShip]

Another ISP Company is forced to tell the recording industry that criminal law applies to them just as well a the rest of the UK population.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7329801.stm

The head of one of Britain's biggest internet providers has criticised the music industry for demanding that he act against pirates.
The trade body for UK music, the BPI, asked internet service providers to disconnect people who ignore requests to stop sharing music.
But Charles Dunstone of Carphone Warehouse, which runs the TalkTalk broadband service, is refusing.
He said it is not his job to be an internet policeman.

Mr Dunstone, whose TalkTalk broadband is Britain's third biggest internet provider, said the demands are unreasonable and unworkable.
He also said his firm will refuse to cooperate with the BPI, despite threats of legal action.

Criminal law trumps Civil law in this case, there is no legal right to look in detail at anyones online traffic without a court order, The BPI and the RIAA may dream that there is but the reality is anyone suffering from the unlawful collusion of an ISP with a record company or recording industry trade group need simply contact the police and make a formal complaint to see arrrests being made and charges pressed, go ahead BPI, make the consumers day

[GhostShip]

Heres a slightly more detailed version of the story above.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/04/arphone_bpi_three_strikes_rejection/

Carphone's refusenik stance comes as a surprise at this stage. The government has been piling pressure on ISPs for several months, demanding they voluntarily work with rights holders to warn customers against sharing copyright music, films and software.

Dunstone continued: "I cannot foresee any circumstances in which we would voluntarily disconnect a customer's account on the basis of a third party alleging a wrongdoing. We believe that a fundamental part of our role as an ISP is to protect the rights of our users to use the Internet as they choose. We will fight any challenge to the sanctity of this relationship with every legal option available to us."

A spokesman for Carphone Warehouse told The Register: "We don't believe legislation will be forthcoming. And we're willing to test that." He said that the firm had taken the stand because it is unwilling to be bullied by a letter from the BPI that threatened court action if it didn't agree to comply, in writing, within 14 days. "There's a difference between that and the BPI's public statements on cooperation," he said

Lets see how the anti-consumer recording industry thinks it can get past european and UK data protection/Privacy laws via the backdoor, I,m sure many folks would be willing to sue them should the need arise to enforce the point.

[Mytheroo]

If they say they are gonna do it, everyone who doesn't get a letter should complain that their data has been spied on (and deemed to be ok)