ANALYSIS

ISPs and the Great Online Pirate Chase

Technology analyst Scott Steinberg fields a viewer question on the latest approach to curbing online piracy: “Internet service providers policing pirates: What is Hollywood smoking? And does anyone really think that this will work?”

Not really, suggests Steinberg. Enforcement would be costly and cumbersome, and probably not at all effective — pirates could just easily change their habits to avoid detection, and even if they’re caught, the remedies amount to little more than a slap on the wrist.

Still, this is a good thing for consumers in general, he suggests, because it signals an end to the entertainment industry’s previous litigious approach. It doesn’t make sense to sue single moms and 12-year-olds over file-sharing, Steinberg maintains, requiring them to pay egregious sums to settle their cases.

ECT News Network contributor Scott Steinberg is a tech industry analyst, author and radio/TV host. Visit his website to submit questions on consumer products, computers, electronics, software apps, IT, online services or any other tech topic that interests you.

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