A chara, – Andrew Callaghan (May 29th) clearly misses the point.
The entertainment industry has a history of running roughshod over the rights of individuals to make its point. Eircom and IRMA have entered into an arrangement whereby customers’ access to the internet will be cut off on the basis of an accusation by a private organisation of illegal activity, without a sniff of due process. It won’t matter that Mr Callaghan has an effective ban in his house. He won’t have the opportunity to assert his innocence.
Also, if his ban isn’t as effective as he believes and the disconnection happens as a result of someone in his house infringing copyrights, then the infringer will not be the only one without a connection – the whole household will be without a connection.
No online tax returns, no flight bookings, no internet calls to loved-ones in Australia. Not even for those of the household who never downloaded a single tune, legally or otherwise.
Eircom and IRMA have taken it upon themselves to be accusers, prosecutors and jury and judge – ignoring individual rights. And they seem to have convinced some gullibles that this isn’t wrong. – Is mise,
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