Use BitTorrent in Germany, Get Your Internet Disconnected
Written by enigmax on May 09, 2007The heads of the international recording industry have a nice suprise for BitTorrent users in Germany. If they get their way, anyone caught using torrents to obtain copyright material will have their internet connection disconnected by their ISP.
Last night, heads of the international music industry had ‘crisis’ talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, centering on the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s claim that the German music market has declined 50% since 2002. Demands came for more assistance to help the industry against piracy and measures to make ISPs take action against their own customers when the music industry feels they may be trading copyright material.
Indeed, the IFPI have something specific in mind. They would like to ‘introduce an obligation on ISPs to terminate service to subscribers abusing the service to make infringing content available’. Potentially, that means terminating your internet access if you’re caught uploading one track. But if you prefer to take it literally, ‘making available’ means that a track sitting in your shared folder that you have never uploaded to anyone, could cost you your internet connection. Quite a punishment. To make matters worse, uploading is built into the BitTorrent protocol so using torrents and not falling foul of these demands becomes almost impossible.
Commenting on the meeting with Merkel, John Kennedy, Chairman of the IFPI said, “The international recording industry has now taken its concerns about the state of the German music market to the highest political level in Europe. We left the meeting appreciative of the fact that the Chancellor understood the nature of the problems we are facing and is willing to play a role in seeking a solution to them. If the German government acts now, we are confident that the German music industry could reverse the decline and be viable again in three to five years.”
According to the IFPI, 374 million illegal files were downloaded by German file-sharers in 2006 but the act of downloading (rather than uploading) appears to evade the scope of these demands by the IFPI. However, while this may be good news for users of other protocols, there is no good news for BitTorrent users. It’s very unusual to download something using BitTorrent without uploading so under these demands, even using BitTorrent to obtain material for personal use becomes an offense punishable by internet disconnection. Unfortunately, this comes at a time when the use of BitTorrent in Germany is reaching record highs.
Other complaints from the IFPI include the issue of piracy on the Czech/German border. Last month, as a result of IFPI action, a Czech court handed out it’s first ever jail sentence to a file-sharer. The IFPI plans to sue 12,000 file-sharers in 2007.
Previously: Jailed ‘Big Crook’ BitTorrent Pirate Appeals Again
Next: Share a Single Song on BitTorrent, eDonkey, Get Fined $400
25 Responses (Add yours or TrackBack)
I hope entire Germany starts downloading latest movies, now. Lets see how many they disconnect.
I doubt that’l pass.
The stats the IFPI provides, just show how many people could very easily loose their connection.
wouldn’t that make the ISP’s lose money?
An obligation to disconnect…WOW… Alot of German ISPs will be rewriting policies if this ever passes..
@ 3
They’d loose thousands.
What a pathetic try to stop filesharing. The ISPs will definitely not give in to this.
I am wondering if we would get international ISP’s and European ISP’s, that way you would go the European court, again, I wonder whats happens then.
man wtf… this idea is so warped… maybe the ifpi should jsut lick my nuts! stupid fags
oh yes and comments like that corey will really impact them to changing their direction. This is just another attempt on the US MPAA and RIAA trying to get an advantage and take over in another part of the world. now that they feel they have iraq and iran along with paki’s under control they start on other countries… soon leading to NK … its all adding up… but hey this is just a thought….
Two weeks ago on finnish television was some talking that finland’s IFPI is planning also that if you download, your internet connection will be cut if ifpi has court’s grant.
So germany isn’t only country. :/
just a remark from czech rep. - i believe the mentioned problem on czech-german border is rather markets where pirated cds/dvds are sold in huge numbers, not p2p networks (which are still on rise in czech rep!). these border markets sell also copies of trademarked clothing and such. funny, once it was found that even though they are mostly operated by vietnamese, they also sell neo-nazi music :)
i see , they can’t do this crap in US they ask germany to do the dirty work
Just buy a Relakks account for €5 per month and you won’t have to sweat about this issue anymore
Bot everything the IFPI wishes comes true.
Otherwise there would be concentration camps popping up everywhere for the “evil” filesharers.
So, chill.
Btw, Relakks and SecureIX are already included in the IP blocklists. Maybe because EVERYONE can use them, even the morons from IFPI.
The IFPI wanting that doesn’t mean it get passed as a German law, and the chancellor can’t even propose laws AFAIK. However lobbyism is strong in Germany so let’s wait what will come up.
German Politicians throw their people to the sharks all the time. The Catholic Church asked the Government to automatically tax Catholics whether they want it or not, and hand it over to Rome (covers the expensive interior decoration and art collection). Germany, if you’re sick of your sycophantic politicians selling you out, vote them out of office and tell others to do the same.
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2441758,00.html
Seems like the third reich are the american corporations… :P
“According to the IFPI, 374 million illegal files were downloaded by German file-sharers in 2006 but the act of downloading”
How the fuck can they obtain these numbers? Seriously, are there some IFPI-monitor-programs in the backbones or what? What a skyscraper-high pile of goatpoo.
I Think,İt is very nice information…
Hitchhiker Nation
I have just been disconnected by my ISP because of an email sent by ESA from the states. I live in Ireland inrural community and now have no access. This is starting to happen already. Watch out!!
its happening already i though its safe to download movies. but they disconnected my internet access… be careful i live in the us and its real torrent is not safe anymore unless you know how to mask your ip i dont know how
will SMARTHIDE or HIDE-IP work on this?
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