Internet Access - A Human Right

MEPs narrowly voted against calls to cut off internet access for persistent pirates.

This just in from the BBC:

European politicians have voted down calls to throw suspected file-sharers off the net.

The idea to cut off persistent pirates formed part of a wide-ranging report on creative industries written for the European parliament.

But in a narrow vote MEPs backed an amendment to the report which said net bans conflicted with “civil liberties and human rights”.

It puts MEPS at odds with governments planning tough action against pirates.

A spokeswoman for the European Parliament said, after the vote:

The vote shows that MEPs want to strike a balance between the interests of rights holders and those of consumers, and that big measures like cutting off internet access shouldn’t be used,

The response from Frances Moore, IFPI Executive Vice President

“Many of the recommendations in this Report stress the need to protect intellectual property as a driver of growth in the creative sector. The Report also calls on the European Commission and Member States to provide the necessary resources to ensure that intellectual property is respected and protected.

“However, one badly drafted, rushed through amendment was adopted which is in contradiction to the rest of the text. If the aim of the Report is to protect creative content, including in the online environment, we should be looking at all options available in the fight against copyright theft. Instead, this amendment suggested discarding certain options before there is even a proper debate.

“We should not allow this last-minute amendment to take away from the overall value of the Cultural Industries Report. We look forward to a full discussion in the European Parliament in the coming months on how best to address copyright theft online.

And from the Open Rights Group: