James Delahunty
22 Sep 2009 23:23
British artists have been commenting on some proposed measures to tackle illegal file sharing of music in the region, with the likes of Radiohead and Annie Lennox being opposed, and Lilly Allen and James Blunt supporting. The debate is about the plan to force Internet Service Providers to punish "repeat offenders" by slowing down Internet connections, issue warnings and eventually cutting off a connection.
The Featured Artists Coalition, or FAC, which touts Annie Lennox, Radiohead and Robbie Williams among its members, is opposed to the plans. "By demanding blanket suspension powers from the government, the industry is in danger of cutting off a promotional tool that is of great use to fledgling artists who seek to create a buzz around themselves yet don't have the financial support of a major label," the group stated.
FAC went on to say that the proposed measures could not be possible without widespread invasion of personal privacy - but don't get it wrong, FAC is opposed to illegal file sharing itself, branding sites that benefit from it as "thieving rascals" that should be prosecuted. Lilly Allen however, disagrees with FAC, and has the backing of James Blunt in doing so.
"The FAC seems to be viewing the government's proposed legislation as an attack on freedom and liberty, but stealing's not really a human right, is it?" she wrote. "The proposal is to look at P2P (peer-to-peer) sites -- which are public anyway -- to identify people who are acting unlawfully, so they can be asked, and then made, to stop. Not really an attack on civil liberties there."