Just a few weeks ago, Eircom gave in to pressure from the big 4 record labels by agreeing to implement a “three strikes and you’re out” policy to people allegedly uploading or downloading music illegally. One would have to agree that it seemed like a reasonably (and unexpectedly) even-handed response to the issue of illegal music sharing over the internet.

Now, however, IRMA, who represent the “Big 4″, have done an about-face, and changed their minds it seems, about their approach to Eircom and other ISPs in Ireland, by insisting they block access to web sites which facilitate music swapping.

The first site to be aimed at is the Pirate Bay, which has just been through a court case in Sweden about its legality. According to evidence in that case, 70%-80% of the torrents accessed from the Pirate Bay are for legal content. Questionable though this figure may be, it does raise the issue that legal downloading is performed with torrents too.

As a musician and composer, I support the enforcement of copyright laws by reasonable means. However, as a Citizen of the World, I oppose the infringement of my right to use whatever web site I like. It’s much like saying we should ban cars because people get killed by them. Accessing the Pirate Bay is not an illegal act (yet). Banning people from accessing it may well be, so Eircom and other ISPs may find themselves in a quandary here, as IRMA continue to make unreasonable demands of the internet user, and of the companies that provide the internet to those users.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 23rd, 2009 at 45 02452u28e08 ppm0828 9 452 2809e pm and is filed under Music, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.