[x-pubpol] Anti-Downloading Law Hits Japan, Up To 2 Years in Prison From Today

[Joly MacFie]

http://torrentfreak.com/anti-downloading-law-hits-japan-up-to-2-years-in-prison-from-today-121001/

A few hours ago Japan introduced new anti-piracy legislation designed to
clamp down on illegal file-sharing. The regime is one of the most draconian
in the world. In most countries users are only targeted when they upload
copyright-infringing material to other Internet users, but the new law’s
wording means that simply downloading unauthorized material could result in
a jail sentence.

According to the Recording Industry Association of Japan and their IFPI
affiliates, the Japanese music industry is in trouble. Unauthorized
downloads eclipse those from official source by 10 to 1, and the market for
downloads shrank by 16% last year.

This decline needs to combated, they insist.

After intensive lobbying by the music industry, in June this year Japan
approved an amendment to its Copyright Law that would see downloaders of
unauthorized music face stiff criminal penalties in addition to the civil
remedies already in place.

The wording here is important. While in some countries downloading
copyrighted media without permission is already illegal, it is usually the
uploaders (distributors) of content that are targeted in so-called “3
strikes” style campaigns.

While Japan already has the legislative muscle to hit uploaders with up to
10 years in prison and a 10 million yen ($128,300) fine, this new
legislation makes criminals of mere downloaders.

>From today, knowingly downloading copyright infringing material can result
in a two-year jail sentence or a fine of 2 million yen ($25,680). But there
could be complications.

Tracking uploaders of infringing material is a fairly simple affair, with
rightsholders connecting to file-sharers making available illicit content
and logging evidence. However, proving that someone has downloaded content
illegally presents a whole new set of issues.

On BitTorrent, for example, rightsholders would have to be the ones
actually sending the infringing material to a file-sharer in order to know
that he or she is downloading it. This scenario could cause complications,
since rightholders already have permission to upload their own content,
making the source a legal one.

But for the implications for ‘downloaders’ could be even more widespread.
The generally tech-savvy BitTorrent user understands the potential for
being targeted for sharing, but by making mere downloading a criminal
offense it is now feared that those who simply view an infringing YouTube
video could also be subjected to sanctions.

For some rightsholders though, even this kind of draconian regime isn’t
enough. As reported<http://torrentfreak.com/jail-for-file-sharing-not-enough-labels-want-isp-level-spying-regime-120624/>
in
June, music rights groups including the Recording Industry Association of
Japan say they have developed a system capable of automatically detecting
unauthorized music uploads before they even hit the Internet.

But to do that they need to be able to spy on Internet users’ connections
and compare data being transferred with digital fingerprints held in an
external database. That can only be achieved with the assistance of
Internet service providers who would be asked to integrate the system
deeply into their networks.

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