O2 comments on the Digital Economy Act

An open letter from Felix Geyr, O2's Head of Home and Broadband, commenting on the new Digital Economy Act.

O2 supports the important principle of protecting copyright but we believe the new legal requirements for internet service providers - to send warning letters and, if they don’t work, to take more serious action including disconnecting customers - are a red herring.

The internet has brought about profound changes to the way we all live and work. New companies and industries have been created, and many long-established companies have embraced the internet and are thriving in the new digital age. Others have found out the hard way what happens when you fail to move with the times.

It may sound harsh but that’s life in a market economy and that’s what happens when a technology revolution takes place. Some people vainly try to prop up the old system - like the Luddites who smashed up the mechanical looms during the industrial revolution – while others recognise that change is inevitable and adapt to a new model.

The real solution to unlawful file sharing is not to send threatening letters or to cut people off from the internet. It is to come up with new products and services that give consumers the content they want, how they want it, and for a fair price.

So our message to the music company and film industry lobbyists who have been campaigning so hard for this change in the law is simple: you’ve got what you wanted. Now wake up, smell the coffee, and start really focusing on giving customers what they want.

Comments

[Withheld]

I'm really quite pleased to see someone with a partisan interest in internet business saying this.

To me, with my online shopping, online media, and yes, sometimes even online piracy attitude (even though I maintain I buy more legit stuff because of it) it seems obvious, but many business folks take the old-school approach.

Thanks for being open-minded to progress.

(Disclaimer: This is just my current personal opinion. My only connection to O2 is as an iPhone contract customer)

[ExposeFraud]

Thank you Felix at O2, for your speaking sense to these deluded MPs.

[Ben Werdmuller]

Felix,

I believe this is right on the money. Nobody's advocating for piracy, but the measures currently being taken will simply encourage developers to make the practice harder to detect.

"The real solution to unlawful file sharing is not to send threatening letters or to cut people off from the internet. It is to come up with new products and services that give consumers the content they want, how they want it, and for a fair price."

That is, after all, how a market is supposed to work.

[Simplychrista]

Couldn't agree more. This is why I really like O2 as my provider :D

[Bob Hazard]

The Luddite analogy is very apt.

An unelected Lord appointed by an unelected Prime Minister rushes through legislation on the last day to help the Corfu Lobby, makes me sick

Nevermind the doctors, let the drug companies run the NHS

[Cath]

Does this mean O2 will refuse to hand over customer details when copyright holders ask for them?

Thanks

[Roger]

Felix - If you are serious about encouraging the recording industry to wake up and smell the coffee then it would help if you made the same pledge as TalkTalk's Andrew Heaney http://bit.ly/bGIayz

I suspect if you did that it would also help retain some customers.

[Derren Weekes]

Well said Felix

I have downloaded music illegally before and, if I liked, gone and purchased the CD (which then gets stored in FLAC on my computer, but NOT shared).

If I don't like it I delete it.

While I was technically a criminal anyway, no one lost out any money (in fact they made more, as I could try before I buy).

However, now I will likely loose my internet connection if I do this, hence I won't download music, hence I will buy a lot, lot less music. Own goal, music industry!

Music industry, you know have the stick, but where is the carrot?

Start responding to the customer, or go out of business and let the new kids.

[Sam]

Will O2 also be backing Talk Talks pledges?

"In the meantime we stand by our pledges to our customers:

Unless we are served with a court order we will never surrender a customer’s details to rightsholders. We are the only major ISP to have taken this stance and we will maintain it.
If we are instructed to disconnect an account due to alleged copyright infringement we will refuse to do so and tell the rightsholders we’ll see them in court."

[Topperfalkon]

It greatly pleases me to hear that O2 is against the DEB. Will O2 work with TalkTalk and other like-minded ISPs to oppose this stupid piece of legislation?

[syscode]

Actually, this is a very empty post by o2 broadband. Summed up by a "Wake up and smell.." is like a platground cry, not a serious thought of next steps. So please let me try, as an o2 broadband current user, try to elaborate for you:
* What are you planning to do?
* How do you interpret/understand the act?
* What does the act mean for o2broadband users?
* Are you going - or having to consider - changing the terms and conditions, to reflect the new act? (..if so, how?)
* Are you going to protect my details? How?
* What was your sumbmission to the consultation process,why do you think it was not accepted, and what are you going to do about it?
* Do you think internet connection is a basic human-right, or a priviliage? How your idea regarding the human-right question is reflected in you approach to the digital economy act?

BTW, you might also want to fill in your customer service people, as when I rang earlier today, they kept asking if am talking about an online o2 bill.. ;)

[antony]

I hope you wont be giving out any information about customers with out a court order? i have a choice 02 or talk talk, im leaving virgin as they are in full support of this disgusting bill and i need a alternative that will fight for our rights even if it means court time which talktalk has publicly embraced.

[Nick]

Will you match TalkTalk's pledge for your own broadband customers of not enforcing any notices from rightsholders without a court order?

http://www.talktalkblog.co.uk/2010/04/08/digital-economy-bill-its-a-wash-up/

[G Isherwood]

Does this mean O2 will join forces with Talk Talk and refuse to comply with this legislation? If all ISP's join together the law will be useless.

[O2]

Hi everyone
Thanks for all the comments. We'll only ever provide customer information in response to a court order and strongly disagree with any suggestion of disconnecting customers.

[openit]

Its an empty argument to suggest that people should be allowed to break the law because technology has changed. Theft is theft, if the fact that its undetected is not an argument to allow it to happen. For instance if the Police ignored burglaries, would it be ok for you to break into your neighbours house and steal their dvds or music collection?

Should O2 or other ISPs be the police force. Well no, the technology should enforce it and those who write the technology to fileshare or download copyrighted material view should be held accountable.

Taking the analogy of the road system, an ISP is like a highways agency, they provide and maintain the connection, but its the police who should catch the people breaking the law.

[nik butler]

AS an iPhone business customer whose 2yr contract was due to expire in 4 months your commitment here has reaffirmed my commitment to renew my contract with O2. My professional work at Reduced Hackers gives me a very good understanding of technical issues involved in this bill. I can only Support political parties and enterprise groups who act on sense not fear.

Thank you

[Eleanor]

If you as a company stand against aspects of this bill in the vein of talk talk, not only will I stay an iphone customer of your but I will change my broadband from Orange to o2.

Good luck to you!

[karen]

I use o2 and I'm glad you're agreeing with Talk Talk on passing customer information about. I would, without a doubt, quit my service with you in a second, if I had learned otherwise. Thanks for saving me the hassle :)

[karen]

Also my name is on the bill as i'm the account holder... but I share the internet connection with 7 people. Am I expected to be the house police on downloads?? I don't think it's actually possible for me to govern peoples internet usage ...

[Mr Angry]

"Hi everyone
Thanks for all the comments. We'll only ever provide customer information in response to a court order and strongly disagree with any suggestion of disconnecting customers".

So, no change there then.

[Pabs]

"It is to come up with new products and services that give consumers the content they want, how they want it, and for a fair price. "

Finally!! This is excactly what the public want.

A Music CD of an album 10 years old is still £8.99, yet a DVD of a 10 year old film is £2.99. The musuc industry are completly ripping off the customer, that is why these filesharers exsis!

[KHaddow]

As an O2 customer I am pleased that O2 will not hand over customer details, or carry out disconnections without a court order. Not from a piracy point of view though, luckily I buy the music I want and watch all the movies I want via online DVD rental. The issue for me personally is one of privacy and the right of "innocent until proven guilty". The most dangerous part in the entire bill is the right to block a site that "has been, does or MAY be used to facilitate copyright infringement". MAY be pretty much covers every site out there as any site can be used for copyright infringement. This will be abused, the authorities will use it to stifle criticism and debate, companies will use it to stop legitimate criticism etc.etc. Other laws such as the anti-terror and criminal justice bills were, and are being widely abused. This will be the same.

To be honest I was seriously considering changing to Talk Talk because of their stance, I am pleased to see O2 are taking a similar stance. Now if only BT and Virgin would follow suit the government would be forced to rethink some parts.

A bill proposed by a twice disgraced politician accused of corruption, written by the rights holders, debated by only 5% of MPs who ignored the wishes of the over 20,000 who took the time to write to their MPs has no validity in my eyes. Democracy?, what democracy?. The little parts of this bill are a major danger to freedom of speech in this country.

[Stewart Addison]

Great comments Felix, and great to see someone from O2 publicly trying to advocate the 'common sense' view. Your comments echo almost precisely what I wrote in my blog at http://trunc.it/6ve5f - the solution to the problem, which will have to happen regardless of the implementation of the DEBill, is for the media companies with the cash to provide better alternatives. At the moment, they choose not to, and if they're missing out on revenue that's a large chunk of the reason.

There are some people that always have, and always will find ways to illegal copy media, but unless the industry adapts the people that would pay may be swayed by the better end-user experience that illegal downloads can often provide. The media companies should encourage legal services like spotify/we7/etc. instead of trying to force through these sorts of unenforceable laws through parliament.

[Sloany]

I agree with all the above. James (the band) recently released their new album for two weeks on soundcloud and then withdrew it before the album release. Now I didnt try copying this album whilst on soundcloud, although it probably was possible (honest i didnt). I then bought the album, as i liked it, and thought it was a great idea i could try before i bought it. So, it seems some music companys are changing their ways. If i couldnt try before i bought i possibly would have downloaded this from a dodgy site to try, and not bought the album, as i already had it.I dont know of other bands that are trying this, but, i think its a good idea and shows a shift in thinking.