Categories: Web

Record companies want to control what we access online, Irish Government obliges

EMI Ireland's time would be best spent innovating rather than pursing draconian-style policing policies

Threatened by legal action from EMI Ireland, the Irish Government has agreed to publish an order next month, “plugging a gap” in Irish copyright law and effectively allowing record companies to restrict access to whole websites in Ireland as they please.

Minister of State for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation Seán Sherlock has promised to publish an order in January 2012 that would allow copyright holders to seek court proceedings against internet service providers (ISPs) to force them to restrict access to certain websites that could potentially facilitate the illegal pirating of music and films.

EMI originally highlighted this “loophole” in Irish law (depending on your perspective) in October 2010 when, in a High Court bid, the company failed to force UPC to filter network access to particular websites – Mr. Justice Peter Charleton stating that such injunctions could not be enforced under the Copyright Act in its current form.

Willie Kavanagh, Chief Executive of EMI Ireland, mostly blames illegal downloads and not massive changes in how we consume media over the last number of years for sharp declines in group revenues. Kavanagh claims €60 million in lost revenues over the last six years as a direct result of illegal pirating.

If ISPs are eventually forced to prevent access to sites like The Pirate Bay or Kickass Torrents, there are of course easy ways to circumvent such restrictions with free software and services like Hotspot Shield and Hide My Ass!

Albizu Garcia

Albizu Garcia is the Co-Founder and CEO of Gain -- a marketing technology company that automates the social media and content publishing workflow for agencies and social media managers, their clients and anyone working in teams.

View Comments

  • @thesociable @siliconireland I'm no fan of clunky govt legislation, but are you suggesting illegal downloading isn't an issue?

  • @thesociable @siliconireland I'm no fan of clunky govt legislation, but are you suggesting illegal downloading isn't an issue?

    • @ciaranj It obviously is an issue but blocking off certain parts of the internet for all is no the way to combat piracy

    • @ciaranj I think we're stepping into dangerous territory by allowing the internet to be filtered in anyway

      • @darrenmccarra I quite agree. But the tone of that article seems to suggest that there is no issue; that record companies are making it up

      • @darrenmccarra I quite agree. But the tone of that article seems to suggest that there is no issue; that record companies are making it up

      • @darrenmccarra I quite agree. But the tone of that article seems to suggest that there is no issue; that record companies are making it up

  • @thesociable @siliconireland I'm no fan of clunky govt legislation, but are you suggesting illegal downloading isn't an issue?

    • @ciaranj It obviously is an issue but blocking off certain parts of the internet for all is no the way to combat piracy

    • @ciaranj I think we're stepping into dangerous territory by allowing the internet to be filtered in anyway

      • @darrenmccarra I quite agree. But the tone of that article seems to suggest that there is no issue; that record companies are making it up

Recent Posts

The ‘DARPAVERSE’ is coming to model, simulate & optimize military operations

DARPA is metaphorically manifesting Eris, the Greek goddess of discord and strife, by attempting to…

3 hours ago

Prezent AI on track to become to first enterprise business communication unicorn following $400m valuation

Since the moment powerful Large Language Models (LLMs) hit the market, the promise of GenAI…

19 hours ago

Walking, talking humanoid robots are coming to society in 4-5 years: WEF

Humanoid robots will be walking and talking among us in the next four or five…

4 days ago

From viewers to co-creators: How AI is changing movie marketing

In recent years, fan engagement in sports has transformed from passive viewership into immersive participation.…

5 days ago

History repeats itself: how crypto is making the same mistakes the internet did in the ’90s

Back in 1990, the internet faced a major problem that we don’t regard as relevant…

5 days ago

Google’s Prem Ramaswami on why we’re still in the early days of large language models

Today, I’m talking to Prem Ramaswami, the Head of Data Commons at Google. Prem and his team recently…

5 days ago