WebProNews

UK Tells ISPs To Get Tough On Piracy

Internet service providers in the UK must take tougher measures to prevent illegal downloading or face legal sanctions the government has warned.Andy Burnham, the culture secretary, told Internet service providers he would introduce legislation in April of next year if they did not voluntarily take action to reduce online piracy.

UK Internet Users Could Be Banned For Illegal Downloads

Internet users in the UK who go online and illegally download music and movies could have their Internet access revoked according to plans the government is considering. A draft proposal says that Internet service providers would have to monitor users who accessed pirated content through their accounts. The government says that plans are in an early stage and it is working on final regulations. Six million users a year are estimated to download files illegally in the UK and music and film companies say it is costing them millions in lost revenue annually.

Is Internet Use in Your Home Public?

In the United States, we have some pretty easy-to-remember guidelines on what constitutes “public” and “private.” Areas like your home and your car are considered private. With a few notable exceptions, other areas are public. These legal definitions apply to entities like the police and the press—anything that happens (or is found) in public is “fair game,” but to intrude on your privacy, the police have to have at least a reasonable suspicion of illegal activity (or your permission).

FCC Looking into Comcast

Back in November, we mentioned how Free Press and other groups wanted ISP/cable company Comcast brought before the FCC for the way the company imitated users on BitTorrent to terminate downloads. And now, the FCC will be looking into it—at least according to Chairman Kevin Martin, speaking at CES.

FCC: ISPs Should Forward Emails Like Post Office

The Federal Communications Commission is looking into the issue of whether or not Internet service providers should be required to forward emails to customers who switch providers.

FCC: Public Debate Keeps ISPs At Bay

Federal Communications Commissioner Michael Copps cited AT&T's recent censorship of a Pearl Jam concert as evidence for the necessity of Network Neutrality to preserve democracy and freedom of speech.

'Catch-up' Packet Takes Shape, ISPs Fire Shots

British Internet service providers are concerned with the BBC's plans to allow viewers to freely download recent broadcasts and view them within 30 days, arguing that "catch-up" TV will eat up bandwidth if enough viewers take advantage of it.

ISPs Threaten to Stall Online Video Apps

Steve O’Hear — who also writes for ZDNet on social media — has a great post up at Last100 about how bandwidth-stingy Internet Service Providers threaten to stall many online-video apps such as Joost by throttling the download speeds that their users get.

ISPs Still Ducking Clickstream Questions

The issue of data privacy has long been one of intense debate and speculation across the blogosphere. Reports have surfaced here and there of ISPs selling clickstream data to third party advertisers for mere cents per user. As journalists continue seeking answers, the ISPs are remaining conspicuously tight-lipped about their data practices.

RIAA Continues Pressuring ISPs For Information

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has been relentlessly fierce in its pursuit of individuals it deems as “criminals” by filing numerous lawsuits over the past several years. It looks like the RIAA is trying to do all it can to encourage ISPs to be more forthcoming with identifying information in order to fuel their tactics which amount to little more than a legal means of extorting money from everyday citizens.