By Gemma Shaw
Photo courtesy of Current
A survey published by YouGov yesterday gave the public’s reaction to the news that the government are planning to cut off the internet of illegal downloaders.
The vast majority (68%) of the 1967 people surveyed would rather a court case where evidence was provided before an internet cut-off to an immediate ban. 19% said that losing their connection would completely disrupt their ability to work, with 23% feeling that their work would be fairly disrupted. 73% would either be fairly or completely disrupted in their ability to use essential commercial services such as internet shopping and banking.
Of the people surveyed, 44% would be less likely to vote for a party planning to endorse this proposed law.
These plans are proposed despite previous public resistance to the proposed laws, accusing them as a violation of human rights. A similar scheme in France was later dismissed on these grounds, as the EU constitution states that internet access is a basic human right. The government still plan to go ahead with the scheme, over several other available options, but say that the cut-off of citizen’s internet is not their preferred option. Dismissed possibilities include a ‘three-strikes’ system, and restricting filesharers’ bandwidth.
There’s no such thing as an EU constitution, but there are negotiations at the moment whether to consider internet access as a fundamental right. The European Parliament voted 88% in favour of that in “Amendment 138″ to telecoms legislation. The main point is that nobody should lose their internet connection without a legal decision. But this must be negotiated with national governments, including France and others who want a three strikes rule.