Thank you UPC

I want to personally thank UPC. Here in Ireland UPC provide internet access to thousands of homes and businesses, trading under the names NTL and Chorus.

Why do I want to thank them? They fought back at the four major record companies, Sony, EMI, Warners, and Universal. Who were looking to get UPC to BLOCK access to a well known torrent site "the pirate bay". They weren't asking for IP addresses for people who download copyrighted music illegally, they were looking to get UPC to block anyone viewing the site completely.

Now some people might argue, yeah what's wrong with that? People shouldn't be downloading Copyrighted material illegally. Firstly, people viewing the site might not have the intention of downloading copyrighted material. So blocking everyone from viewing the website is to falsely accuse them that they are intending to commit a felony.

Secondly, Where do you draw the line? If your required to block access to one website, why not another and another? And how do you determine which sites to block access?

If we block access to the pirate bay, more and more sites will start coming under the hammer, first it will be to protect copyrighted material, then it could be to protect the integrity of a politician, or a company because someone was speaking out against it.

The internet is used because of its free access to information and entertainment, it was used as a platform to make your voice heard, free speech is a foundation for the modern internet. Recently there has been an increase to quell, or restrict that flow of information. We start letting companies like Warner, EMI, Sony to win these battles, then more and more corporations will start to try and restrict the internet at their own desecration.

I want to personally thank UPC, they are willing to fight these record companies in the courts. And I think that UPC should have the backing of the public. We have to fight for the freedom of the internet, and against the blocking of websites like the pirate bay because then they have free reign to block more and more websites.

Earlier in the year, Eircom another internet provider here in Ireland was brought to court by the same record companies. They folded, and now eircom has to provided the IP address account information of people who they detect are illegally uploading or downloading copyrighted work.

Eircom will also disconnect these people from access to the internet. Apparently this was the first time in the word that an internet provider was brought to court in the battle against copyright infringement on the web.

It looks like Ireland is a test ground for these companies, they are testing the water for the rest of the world.

I hope for the benefit of the internets integrity UPC will win against the record companies, this will inevitably end up in court.

I will keep myself informed, and try keep other people posted on other developments.