Bell Calls For Crtc Backed Website Blocking System And Complete Criminalization

Michael Geist:

“The Bell proposals (which sit alongside broadcast distribution proposals that would enshrine simultaneous substitution in NAFTA and create the prospect of blocked U.S. channels under a consent model) suggest that the company’s position as a common carrier representing the concerns of ISPs and their subscribers is long over. Instead, Bell’s copyright advocacy goes beyond what even some U.S. rights holders have called for, envisioning new methods of using copyright law to police the Internet with oversight from the CRTC and implementing such provisions through NAFTA.”

I didn’t think it would be possible for me to hate Bell anymore than I already do, but here we are.

Bell wants to make it so ISPs are required to block websites whose purpose is “infringing copyright”. Who decides which websites should be on this list? An “independent third party” overseen by the CRTC. So what they’re suggesting is that the tax payer should foot the bill to protect the copyrights of these big companies, give me a break.

Not to mention, the infeasibility of enforcing this. Most internet blocks can be defeated, just look at the attempts in Australia and the UK to do the same sort of thing. And guess who gets to pay for this cat and mouse game? That’s right, the taxpayers.