Technology

Here in NL the ISP's are refusing to give client info to the government due to privacy policy, giving a big "go fuck yourself" to any agency trying to convict internet pirates. A judge needs to sign for an ISP to release information on soneone, which only happens with large criminal cases like drug sales and child porn distribution. The fight to change the law so ISP's are forced to release all client info has been going on for years and years now, constantly ending in favor of privacy. ISP's are asshole companies lurking for your money, but at least they protect client privacy over here.

Difficult to feel sorry for an organisation whose only responsibility is to generate profit for their shareholders. If their policy happens to align with normal human ethics it is a coincidence and they will not spare a moment to consider the plight of their customers when the shoe is on the other foot. Fuck them. Long live the pirates.

This is less than interesting.

ISPs don't want to cut off their income here. I'm certain they have a very good idea of how many of their customers, especially those paying for higher tier plans, are either getting constant DMCA requests, or have a persistent connection to a VPN service. They have a good idea of how much money they're making from people pirating content, so this position for them is hardly surprising.

At the same time, I'd rather they fight with the copyright trolls than me. Regardless of the reason for why they're doing it, it's a good thing to fight for.

IMO, they shouldn't be responsible for this because they're not tasked with enforcing laws. They must abide by them, and they have a legal, or at least, moral obligation to report any felonies/crimes that they're aware of (with varying degrees of obligation depending on the severity of the crime. Eg, I'm less bothered if they don't report, say, piracy, than I would be if they don't report CP/murder/violent crimes, etc).

If the LEO's want a service cut off for a good reason, then let them get a court order for it. They should not be obligated by law to enforce such laws. Any enforcement should be handled by an independent organization, and be filtered through the court system as a check/balance for the whole cabal. They shouldn't be forced to both find and enforce infractions. Reporting suspected infractions, maybe. Forwarding legal requests to customers, sure (like DMCA notices). Oblige disconnect requests from law enforcement by request (when confirmed necessary by courts in the presence of reasonable evidence), absolutely.

But having the ISPs do all that themselves with little oversight, is both a danger to their clients, to their liability, and to the public at large, mainly in the context of free speech. The ISP is just the middle man, the messenger. They don't host the content, nor should they police it, or the access you can get to it. I'm all for collaboration in the interest of enforcing the law, but putting the entire obligation on the ISP seems foolish to me.

Cyber crimes is one area of law enforcement that I don't think should be defunded. It may be that ACAB, but those doing the investigative work, away from public interaction (and possible abuse), are not the root of the problem there.

I dunno, just my opinion man.

It's becoming impossible to monitor. I have 5G Broadband Internet and I share a public IP address with everyone in my area. I look at https://iknowwhatyoudownload.com and it shows thousands of torrents that my neighbors have pulled downloaded.

Cox Communications being the ISP for the customers.

You will not ever, ever see Verizon, Comcast, Spectrum .etc doing this. They would happily snip your internet access and leave you high and dry.