Crusade against Illegal Downloading, Musicians Taking Lead
Lily Allen has decided not to meet the press because of the criticism she has been facing due to the views she expressed in her blog regarding the initiatives that were required for stopping illegal downloading of music videos. This type of net piracy has been going on for a long time and the debate to stop it been quite acrimonious.
A three-hour meeting of a group of approximately hundred musicians, including acclaimed artists like Nick Mason, Ed O’ Brien and George Michael came to the conclusion that the most effective method of stopping illegal downloading is to throttle the bandwidth in a manner that only sharing of files will be stopped while e-mail and web access will be possible.
It is true that artists have voted for the implementation of a strict policy against the ‘music pirates’ that has attracted a lot of negative press reports, but one must appreciate their stand and also take note of the fact that a provision of taking stern action after sending at least two warnings is already there. Lily Allen, one of the more vocal critics of net piracy, has passionately appealed to the public in her blog to see reason and make a concerted drive to bring defaulters to book.
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Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, while acknowledging the fact that this unlawful practice must be stopped, expressed a similar view that this method should be used only when all other methods fail. There is unanimity among all concerned that warnings must be issued, and only if people refuse to pay heed to them should net access be controlled. . Because the internet has become a basic need for most of us, and with the advent of mobile broadband and networks offering free laptop deals, it can be accessed whenever and wherever a person wants, this makes the thought of people not being allowed access extraordinary.
