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Is Peter Mandelson heading to defeat?

By Mark Pack | Fri 4th September 2009 - 1:10 pm

Peter Mandelson’s desire to introduce stringent penalties for internet piracy look to be heading for deep trouble, with heavy criticism coming from senior businessmen, internet service providers and key parts of the music industry.

First there’s this from paidContent:UK:

The government’s revised, tougher plans to tackle online piracy have been dismissed as “grossly unfair” and “misconceived” by the leaders of ISPs and consumer groups, who warn against creating an “extrajudicial kangaroo court” to cut off persistent P2P offenders.

The CEOs of BT and TalkTalk (the UK’s two biggest ISPs) as well as Orange UK, the Open Rights Group, Which? and Consumer Focus are signatories to a letter in The Times on Thursday which calls for re-think on the plans. It reads: “We are concerned that the Government’s latest proposals on the ‘how’ to reduce illegal filesharing are misconceived and threaten broadband consumers’ rights and the development of new attractive services.”

The industry heavyweights warn of the way the plans threaten freedom of speech: “usually, constraints to freedom of expression are imposed only as the result of custodial sentences, or incitement to racial hatred, or libel.”