Lord Mandelson confirms internet cut-off for illegal file sharers
But will he still be in office then?
Business secretary Lord Mandelson has confirmed the government's 'get tough' policy on illegal file sharing, with persistent illegal downloaders looking at being cut off from the net from summer 2011.
Speaking at the government's digital creative industries conference, he said net connections could and would be blocked, but only as a last resort, claiming that a 'legislate and enforce' strategy was the only way to protect the intellectual property rights of content producers. 'Three strikes is a reasonable way of describing our approach,' he said.
To get cut off, you'll need to be pretty persistent in your activities. From around April next year, anyone suspected of illegal file sharing will get a warning letter, with the effectiveness of these letters being monitored for the first 12 months. If illegal filesharing has not dropped by 70% by April 2011, then cutting off people's internet connections could be introduced three months later, from the summer of that year. That is of course, if the same government is in or the new one has the same views on cutting off net access.
'If we reach the point of suspension for an individual, they will be informed in advance, having previously received two notifications – and will have the opportunity to appeal,' Mandelson added. 'The British government's view is that taking people's work without due payment is wrong and that, as an economy based on creativity, we cannot sit back and do nothing as this happens.'
There would be a 'proper route of appeal' for those that do have their internet accounts suspended, although who will play judge and jury to that isn't clear, an 'independent body' is all we've got to go on. We expect a succession of 'it wasn't me, someone jumped on my insecure router' defences testing the enforcement body to its limits in the first few months as a nailed-on certainty. Whether that actually works as a legitimate defence reamins to be seen.
(via The Guardian)
Sign up for the free T3 newsletter
Want your latest gadgets news delivered to your inbox every week? Register for the free T3 newsletter and relax as the headlines come to you!
You need to 
Watch gadgets in action
Hot Reviews
Google Nexus One UK review
See if the Google phone is good enough to topple the iPhone
Sky 3D Premier League football review
Can Sky change the way we view football forever?
LG Intouch Max review
We find out if Android on a budget can really be done
Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited,
Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, UK BA1 2BW
England and Wales company registration number 2008885
By freeiphones4u
28|10|2009 13:33
The Free iPhone Guide
To get yourself a free iPhone, iPod Touch, or the latest Macbook Air all you have to do is follow the 3 easy steps:
Step 1 : Sign up for a free Gift
Sign up at the link below to get your free gift. We recommend this free gift site because it's been TRIED and TESTED to work.
http://Gifts.real-incentives.com/2992 (copy and paste into address bar)
You can choose other prizes like free Laptops from this site too! Make sure you use a real email address. Use your real details when you sign up so that the company knows where to send your gift! Remember that they have been proven legitimate, so will send you your free gift if you do everything legitimately!
Step 2 : Try an advertiser's offer
Basically all you need to do in this step is complete one of the offers, this is where the freebie site make their money, if you complete an offer then the freebie site will recieve commission for it. So if you complete Coral which will only cost you £5 to complete, the freebie site gets £25 from Coral. The two best offers are Lovefilm Free DVD rental (a no obligation free DVD trial) and Coral (bet £5 on a sport). I would reccommend you do Coral as it credits in an hour and is really simple to do, Lovefilm however can become complicated and takes up to 4 weeks to credit! You can also try one of the other offers, most are gambling offers. Don't skip this step! You must complete this step to get your free gift!
Step 3 : Refer some friends
This part is a lot easier than it seems, especially now with free gift sites getting so popular. There's lots of people online who want a free iPhone, Touch or macbook too, so start referring them! You only need to get a few signups before you'll be finished. You can ask your friends or your online buddies. I already got a free iPhone without even having to ask my friends for help - there's lots of people online who want a free iPhone like you! One of the easiest ways to get a referral is to do a favour for a friend and ask them to sign up in return. That way, you both can get a free gift!
Basic rules
Don't break these rules! This is the only reason that you won't get your free gift, so make sure you follow these rules!
- One account per household - don't use a public computer to sign up!
- Use real information - this is a proven legitimate site and they will not give out your information.
- Only complete each offer once! You cannot complete the same offer again, even for different freebies.
- Don't try to cheat the system. This site has been proven legitimate, and they will catch you if you try to cheat. If you do everything legitimately, by following this guide, you will get a free gift!