Big Content Down Under: unplugg your "pirate" users please

Pressure is building on Australian ISPs to do more about two hot-button issues: copyright infringement and adult content. The industry is pushing back, with mixed results.
Related Stories
Torrentspy starts filtering copyrighted content
File-sharing and the music industry
Australian ISPs would be required to pull the plug on repeat copyright infringers under a plan put forward by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT). The Australian equivalent of the RIAA, the Australia Recording Industry Association, is behind the plan as well.
The ISPs are less than impressed with the proposal, however. While they condemn piracy and appreciate the position of the rights-holders, the ISPs do not want to be put in the position of playing copyright police at the behest of Big Content.
In a letter (PDF) sent to the heads of AFACT, ARIA, and the Music Industry Piracy Investigations, the IIA laid out some of its concerns. First and foremost, the ISPs believe that the Australian court system offers ample opportunity for rights-holders to protect their IP. They also do not want to be put in the position of playing judge, jury, and executioner when AFACT or another body says that a certain IP address was flagged for sharing content.
The IIA also believes that a court would have to make a finding of infringement before a subscriber could be labeled a repeat infringer and have his or her service disconnected. "The distinction between an infringer and an alleged infringer has been raised as an important legal standard which ought not be undermined by us," argues the letter.
But AFACT doesn't buy the arguments. "It's a very simple, reasonable, cost effective, practical thing for them to do," AFACT executive director Adrianne Pecotic told The Sydney Morning Herald. Pecotic also believes that since the ISPs' subscriber agreements state that users cannot use their connections for illegal activities, they would be perfectly justified in pulling the plug.
Filtering content
The IIA has been under a lot of pressure lately not only from the music industry, but from the Australian government itself. Earlier this month, Australian ISPs were forced to begin offering PC filtering software in an attempt to keep objectionable content away from impressionable eyes. In a press release, the IIA said that it believes that filters "are no substitute for parental involvement and supervision of their children's online behavior."
16-year-old Tom Wood demonstrated the accuracy of the IIA's argument when he managed to bypass the government-mandated filter in a little over a half hour. Not only was Wood able to circumvent the filter, but he was also able to make it appear that the filter was still operating as it should.
In the wake of Wood's demonstration, some politicians are calling for mandatory server-level filtering as well. "You need both," Sen. Steve Fielding told the Herald Sun. "You need it as the ISP and the PC level."
Australian ISPs want no part of mandatory server-side filtering, even if it would only be applied to subscribers that opt in. "The IIA is disappointed that there remain calls by some political parties for mandatory internet level filtering—particularly in the lead up to the election where the policy environment is heated," the group said in a statement.
Even the politicians appear to realize that filters are not a panacea. "Unfortunately, no single measure can protect children from online harm," Communications Minister Helen Coonan told the Herald Sun. "Traditional parenting skills have never been more important." Coonan is spot on, and the risk of overemphasizing technological solutions is that many parents will believe that they are sufficient—especially when they are strongly backed by the government.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070831-big-content-down-under-unplug-your-customers-for-us-thanks.html