Just remember a lot of trends like this start there and end up in America. How much are you willing to have your taxes go up to bail out the record and movie industries?

According to Labour Party leaders, the government is planning on handing the expense of the Digital Economy Bill down to taxpayers. That expense is estimated to be approximately £500M (approximately $800M USD). On average, that works out to more than £25 more a year ($40 USD/year) per internet connection.

And that’s considering that the government is counting on the bill reducing piracy enough to increase media revenues by £1.7B ($2.72B USD), leading to £350M ($560M USD) extra in VAT tax revenue. If that increase isn’t realized, British taxpayers could find themselves on the hook for over $1B USD in enforcement expenses.

The initial letter writing campaign is predicted to cut off 40,000 citizens from the internet and cost £1.40 ($2.20 USD) per subscription. The government appears to have purposefully neglects to include possible economic losses based on citizens being taken offline in its estimates.




  1. ChrisMac says:

    It’ll cost them way more than 1b
    it’ll cost them the game

  2. fromundacheese says:

    cut off your nose to spite your face

  3. MrMiGu says:

    so taxpayers are going to have to pay to be able to protect IP so they can then go out and pay for said IP?

    Why not just have that tax money go to the IP owners and cut out all of the middle bullshit?

  4. serrin says:

    @ #3 Obviously that would make sense, and couldn’t possibly be the solution. Why think of all those fat cats who would lose out on their pork if they make a tax or a law that made sense.

  5. AdmFubar says:

    #2 more like cutting off your face in spite of your nose

  6. jbellies says:

    If this comes to pass, it will be about unintended consequences. Maybe even unforeseen consequences.

    Certainly in government circles, interference with the Internet is a priori a GOOD THING.

  7. ECA says:

    OK,
    if the music and movie industry wishes to have this enforced…THEY SHOULD PAY FOR IT, not the customers.

    “law would also increase sales for the music and movie industry by £1.7 billion over the next ten years.”

    so thats ?? $170 million per year??
    it still doesnt pay.
    AS well as pissing off THEIR own customers..
    And limiting access to itunes WHICH has most of the market(according to APPLE).
    You limit access to OFF LINE, and what do you have?
    SMALL shops that cant cover the WHOLE market/GENRE/SELECTION that could be sold.

    ANOTHER POINT:
    HOW long does copyright last? 20, 30, 40 years??
    WHY hasnt the OLDER stuff hit the FREE selections??
    SAME with movies..Gone with the wind should be OUT THERE and free to watch.

    IF’ the music and movie industry went to FULL digital media format..
    Drop the DRM
    DROP the lawyers
    DROP the lobbyists
    DROP shipping/handling as 1 digital copy could make 1,000,000,000 copies.
    DROP Advertising.

    They could design a BOX that could hold 1,000,000,000 albums in a 4×4 box that could BURN the songs you want, in the FORMAT you want. It could be installed in a GAS station or TRUCK STOP in TIMBUKTOO and make sales.
    They could MAKE their OWN site on the NET and release Audio/Video as it HIT the theater at $5 per show and burn it to DVD/BR and have MORE sales then to release to a THEATER.
    You can watch the movie AT HOME and drink a beer or PAUSE it to goto the restroom..

    But, do these FOLKS get the point?? NO!

  8. RTaylor says:

    Democracy is an illusion, always have been. The rich fat cats call the shots, they bought the power, and made up the game. Same goes for any other social system. Humans are a dead end specie. We do fair in tribal situations, but always fail at civilization. I’ve made 53 trips around the Sun, and that’s my take on it. Accept it and stop worrying about it.

  9. birddog says:

    Movie Industry Has A Record Year In 2008, Still Not Happy

    click here.

  10. deowll says:

    #10 This is the Brits being sold out by Parliament. Congress hasn’t gotten around to pimping us out on this yet.

  11. Jamie says:

    Are all laws supposed to result in an increase in the tax take? Are the anti-theft laws that stop you walking into a shop designed purely to raise tax revenue, or are they designed to stop you stealing things? When you lot stop complaining about not being able to have whatever you want for free, and start creating stuff in order to pay your mortgage, then you’ll have a frame of reference. How many of you work for free right now? Not many I’d guess, and until you see your work being cloned and passed around like party favours, you’ve got no credibility.

  12. Uncle Patso says:

    The “content providers” (Remember when they used to be artists? Now they’re corporate clones.) feel they deserve more money than has ever existed, exists now or ever will exist — so much money that it would collapse into a supergiant black hole if it were ever collected in one place.

    What the Brits really need to do is, once the law providing that three accusations or suspicions equals “yer out!” is enacted, start writing letters accusing the Members of Parliament that passed this abomination, then move on to government ministers and anyone/everyone else they happen to not like at the moment. Once the number of people cut off from the Internet for life approaches 85% of the population, something will give.

    How much is postage on a letter to England?


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