Two large ISPs in the Netherlands have said they will not be blocking subscriber access to The Pirate Bay, as demanded by the Hollywood supported anti-piracy outfit BREIN. T-Mobile and KPN argue that blocking websites is a threat to the open Internet, and suggest that the entertainment industry focuses on new business models instead. BREIN is now expected to take the ISPs to court.
http://torrentfreak.com/dutch-isps-refuse-to-block-the-pirate-bay-120129/
In answering questions by parliament members Gesthuizen (Socialist Party) and El Fassed (Green)
- the government says that it is aware that providers of mobile services and operating systems are capable of collecting information about WiFi routers (MAC addresses, signal strengths) and that these companies are combining and correlating the information with other sources of data such as GPS services;
- the government does not answer the question if it is aware of businesses collecting such data (without explicit permission) in The Netherlands. It also does not answer the question whether such companies are breaking any laws;
- the government feels that a ban on these practices is not needed and that regulators have sufficient power to take action ‘in individual cases’ and if the circumstances require it;
- the government points to decisions by European regulators requiring explicit authorization from users before one can go and collect ‘location information’. However, it says that the same regulators have acknowledged that businesses can have legitimate reasons when collecting location information, but they should go and put proper safeguards in place, inform their customers and offer an opt-out regime nonetheless.
In summary, the Dutch government does not know what’s happening in its own territory and prefers to wait until things go awry, while referring to the responsibility and opinions of national and EU regulators.
Dutch language government document:
https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/ah-tk-20112012-1091.pdf
Meanwhile, the Dutch government has stated that it needs more time to answer similar questions in relation to the practices of Carrier IQ. Those questions were submitted early December 2011.
Dutch language government documents:
https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/ah-tk-20112012-1043.pdf
https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/ah-tk-20112012-1044.pdf
I don’t think anybody at these companies is losing a nanosecond of sleep because of this lawsuit
http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Suit-Pact-hurt-high-tech-pay-2793756.php
Review will focus on why Mr. Dotcom was granted residency but refused permission to buy a luxury mansion in Auckland by the Overseas investment Office, on the basis of his previous conviction
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204661604577190070119154122.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Bwin.Party, a firm created by the merger in March of Bwin Interactive and PartyGaming, is insisting it had no idea the website allegedly pirated films, television and music on a massive scale. The firm, based in Gibraltar and listed on the London Stock Exchange, is one of the largest online gambling operators.
It will take a long time for torrent sites to shut down. But I am afraid that it will happen one day
http://postnoon.com/2012/01/28/end-of-the-line-for-torrents/23616
