thomas fitzgerald.net

Great article from The Guardian about the recent deal between the record Industry and ISP’s in the UK.:

I’m a science fiction writer by trade, but even I am impressed by the incredible inventiveness on display in the figures used by the record industry to justify this measure: they add up all the kids who’ve downloaded a song this week, multiply by the highest retail price, add 30% to account for the wear and tear on their faces from tugging at their beards in dismay, and announce a billion quid “piracy loss” that government and ISPs have to step up and do something about right now, please and thanks, and forget about all that tedious law business.

The law is for “minor crimes” like rape and murder – when it comes to serious crimes like downloading songs, we need a “streamlined process” that makes the War on Terror look like a slow-moving, cautious thing.

[Read Cory Doctorow: Filesharing deal will drive swapping underground | Technology | guardian.co.uk]