[x-pubpol] Australia: Brandis' futile plan to 'stop the bytes'

[Joly MacFie]

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2014/6/26/technology/brandis-futile-plan-stop-bytes

New government legislation will add about $100 million a year to the cost
of providing broadband in Australia and this may mean that your annual
internet bill could rise by about 5 per cent.

The cost to Australian business will be substantial. Telcos will be given
the onerous task of ‘stopping the bytes’: identifying pirates and
additional compliance costs. The rest of Australian business will have to
bear the cost of monitoring corporate networks to prevent illegal
file-sharing, and public Wi-Fi providers could be fined if their service is
used for illegal file-sharing.
<snip>

Industry appears to be close to convincing the government to introduce
anti-piracy legislation similar to that introduced overseas, such as in New
Zealand
<http://www.afr.com/p/technology/new_zealand_convicts_first_file_AHHOEvBqXgVgwHVW85xKsO>
.

But will anti-piracy legislation stop piracy? No.

In a blog post <http://blog.iinet.net.au/site-blocking/> on June 23, iiNet
chief regulatory officer Steve Dalby discussed site blocking and asked the
question, “Does it work?” Dalby writes: “We know the pointlessness of
simply blocking sites like The Pirate Bay, when they can change their
address in minutes. The internet has no gate that we can put a padlock on.
There are many alternative ways for infringers to access their favourite
movies and TV shows online.”

Initially anti-piracy legislation will give people cause for concern, but
it will only be a matter of time before people become expert at using Virtual
Private Network (VPN)
<http://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-a-virtual-private-network-vpn-12741>
connections
to hide their peer-to-peer downloading as well as to circumvent market
segmentation
<https://theconversation.com/cheaper-hardware-software-and-digital-downloads-heres-how-8382>,
also known as geo-blocking.

Recently the Attorney-General George Brandis told the Senate: "Australia, I
am sorry to say, is the worst offender of any country in the world when it
comes to piracy … I am very concerned that the legitimate rights and
interests of rights holders and content creators are being compromised by
that activity."

What Senator Brandis failed to discuss is why the problem exists and what
the government will do to ensure that consumer rip-offs become a thing of
the past. The government cannot claim that it is not fully aware of
consumer complaints about an industry that thrives on price gouging and
antiquated business practices.

And why is the government taking punitive action against the
telecommunications industry when similar laws of inspection and disclosure
of illegal goods are not in force against shipping and other transportation
companies? Because compliance will add a significant cost and achieve very
little.

And what will happen when the government introduces the new anti-piracy
legislation? The practice will go underground
<http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/computers-and-online/networking-and-internet/shopping-online/navigating-online-geoblocks.aspx>
and
business will be left with additional costs associated with yet another
piece of unnecessary and unworkable legislation from a government that has
stated many times that it will reduce red tape and unnecessary compliance
costs.

For the telco industry there will be a cost associated with anti-piracy
compliance, that takes into account the additional systems needed to
monitor internet traffic, issue non-compliance notices and prepare reports
for the government agency given the task of overseeing anti-piracy efforts.

Even if the entire activity is automated there will be a substantial cost
passed along to consumers that could add up to 5 per cent to broadband
accounts. The additional cost will depend on how much effort must be
expended to identify and stop pirates.

It is likely that the Federal Police in conjunction with the Australian
Communications and Media Authority will be responsible for overseeing
regulations and enforcement, and the additional costs will reduce their
ability to undertake other more pressing activities.

Also on the government’s agenda will be an internet filter that attempts to
block Australian access to file-sharing websites. Will it extend beyond the
anti-piracy effort? Senator Brandis has not provided guidance on whether
VPN and foreign purchasing services will also be blocked.


<snip>
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