258w ago - According to the Canadian Press, the "Federal government is expected to introduce legislation Thursday that will seek to make it easier to prosecute individuals who download copyrighted material from the Internet."
Experts say that Canada has finally given in to pressure from the U.S government to crackdown on illegal filesharing with provisions including: A $500 fine for each illegal file shared online, making it illegal to unlock cellphones or copy music from protected CDs to iPods, forbidding the right to copy "time shifted" shows onto personal video recorders if flagged by broadcasters.
To quote: Although it is currently unclear how the copyright bill will be enforced, observers have said enforcement could be aided if Canada signs on to the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, to be tabled next month at the G8 summit in Japan.
The agreement, which was recently published on a Web site known for disseminating leaked documents, would require Internet service providers to police the content that travels over its network.
According to the four-page document, ISPs could required to filter pirated digital files and reveal the identities of customers suspected of infringing on copyrighted material.
Bring down some of the prices and people would buy more i say.
I wonder though... thinking outside of the box... given that Toronto has the highest per-capita facebook usage in the world, it wouldn't be hard for the relevant agencies to dip into a legal loophole and access personal information to find out browsing and download history for those holding fb accounts... I mean, the patriot act already gives the U.S. government the jurisdiction to infiltrate any data centre if it deems it a matter of national security... if Canada is on that train, look out Toronto!
How will thay know if you unlocked your mobile phone? There is no reason for them to be locked to a network anyway as if you want the latest phone you must take a contract with the company that has the latest model available. The ISP's will not be able to monitor every bit of information passing their networks, its just maddness.