Re: Proposals for mass Internet monitoring and P2P disruptions

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Erich M." <me () quintessenz org>
Date: December 11, 2008 6:55:30 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] Proposals for mass Internet monitoring and P2P  
disruptions


> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
> Date: December 8, 2008 2:47:03 PM EST
>
> Greetings.  Given the current discussion regarding UK ISP blocking of
> Internet content, it seems appropriate to note this story from
> mid-October that didn't get as much play as it should have.

Lauren and all,

This posting made my day. I have been into exactly this topic on the
other side of the Atlantic from the beginning of this week. When I
checked the link you provided, I saw the parallels to Europe
immediately. It is all a G8 summit outcome, as usual. Italy, France, UK
, the US and Germany make up 5 of the seven that count [see below].

Yesterday and today we rechecked the case of the Wikipedia blocking in
UK for the sake of a 32 year old [sic!] rock album cover pictured there.
Collateral damage: all wikipedia editors from the UK were cut off for  
days.

EU commission money co-funded this madness, as there has been this EU
funding programme "safer internet" around since 2000 that was awarded
another 55 million Euro this Tuesday. 450.000 Euros went to the British
Internet Watch Foundation [basically a hotline] alone for latest 14
months period. The Commission confirmed that IWF had been funded

Well, as to a statement by the European Commission we got in yesterday -
the Commission being the managing body of the Union -  the blockade by
all British ISPs was based upon a _voluntary agreement_. The list is
provided to the intermediary "Internet Watch Foundation" by UK police.

So: similar situation as in the US, you may expect similar things
happening there. This is a all a G8-summit outcome.

France and Germany are already preparing filtering/blocking laws that
should even be mandatory.   As the EU commission told us yesterday, in
Italy filtering and blocking is already mandatory.
Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, the owner of one of the
largest media conglomerates in Europe, announced that he would use the
upcoming Italian G8 presidency beginning January to "regulate the  
internet".

Well of course Mr. Berlusconi will do that together with French premier
Nicolas Sarkozy whose best man at his marriage with a former model was
one of the five French media tycoons. A second media mogul had baptized
Sarkozy's oldest son, all five together were present on top of the
French president's wedding table. All of those five print, tv, film,
radio and record label tycoons own as well majority stakes either in
leading French telco businesses or military suppliers.

"ca suffit", methinks ;)

Here is today's story of our series. German only, but I already told you
most of what is in. A follow-up is already scheduled for this morning.

http://futurezone.orf.at/stories/1500700/

> Another journey through the wacky world of deep packet inspection
> begins!

That will be the next step, logically.
> Of course, this is all couched in terms of trying to stop c-porn for
> now, but once in place such infrastructure could be easily expanded
> to cover any material that authorities deem to be unsuitable for the
> unwashed masses.

That is what is being feared in Europe.

> Too bad about that pesky Bill of Rights in the U.S., eh?

Lucky you sporting such a precious bill for such a long time ;)
Servus from Vienna
Erich


post/scrypt: Originally I intended to use the term "Copyright Mafia" in
this posting....

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