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ACTA in UK: 10 years in jail for 'illegal downloads'
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width="100" frameborder="no" height="20"></iframe>Published: <span
class="grey">03 March, 2012, 14:24</span></div>
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<div class="mainimagevideo">
<div id="MainImageVideo"> <img
src="cid:part1.03030500.07090004@apc.org" alt="SOCA parked
page on former RnBxclusive.com file-share service"
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<p id="VideoDescription" class="grey mv10">SOCA parked page on
former RnBxclusive.com file-share service</p>
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<div class="selector oh fr w_half" style="padding:0; width:49%;"> <strong>TRENDS:</strong>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://rt.com/trends/stop-online-piracy-act/"
class="tags"><span>SOPA</span></a> </div>
<p class="fl w_half"> <strong>TAGS:</strong> <a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://rt.com/tags/crime/"
style="white-space:nowrap;">Crime</a>, <a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://rt.com/tags/scandal/"
style="white-space:nowrap;">Scandal</a>, <a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://rt.com/tags/uk/"
style="white-space:nowrap;">UK</a>, <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://rt.com/tags/protest/" style="white-space:nowrap;">Protest</a>,
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://rt.com/tags/human-rights/"
style="white-space:nowrap;">Human rights</a>, <a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://rt.com/tags/law/"
style="white-space:nowrap;">Law</a>, <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://rt.com/tags/piracy/" style="white-space:nowrap;">Piracy</a>,
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://rt.com/tags/internet/"
style="white-space:nowrap;">Internet</a>, <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://rt.com/tags/marina-dzhashi/"
style="white-space:nowrap;">Marina Dzhashi</a>, <a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://rt.com/tags/laura-smith/"
style="white-space:nowrap;">Laura Smith</a> </p>
<br class="clr_all">
<p>UK web surfers have caught a grim glimpse of the future with
Internet users being threatened with 10 years in jail for “illegal
downloading” after a prominent music file-sharing site was shut
down shortly after Britain signed the notorious ACTA bill.</p>
<p>It is the first time such a move has been made against Internet
users in the UK. The British government introduced regulations in
2009 enabling Internet providers to track users who downloaded
illegal content from the web and disable their connection if
warning letters had no effect. But signing the Anti-Counterfeiting
Trade Agreement (ACTA) has brought the conflict to a whole new
level.</p>
<p>In Europe, people are taking to the streets in protest at the
contradictory Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, with some
countries refusing to sign it.</p>
<p>After hackers from the activist group Anonymous attacked
practically all US government websites in retaliation, the
authorities are now considering adopting their own home-grown
anti-counterfeiting laws like PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property
Act) / SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act).</p>
<p>In February, Britain's organized crime police shut down
RnBxclusive.com, a prominent music file-sharing website with about
250,000 subscribers on Facebook alone and up to 70,000 visitors
per day. <br>
</p>
<p>In fact, the British police effectively took on the role of
personal enforcer to the recording industry, standing guard to
protect corporate profits. However sad it might be for many, this
is a part of a legal game between copyright owners and the police
on the one hand, and defenders of the free Internet on the other.</p>
<p>Normally, the Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) tackles
crimes “that affect the UK and its citizens.” Now, it seems that
downloading content from a file-sharing website has been put on a
par with “Class A drugs, people smuggling and human trafficking,
major gun crime, fraud and money laundering.” <br>
</p>
<p>The practices of SOCA, while enforcing its crackdown on “illegal
downloading,” raises even more questions.<br>
</p>
<h3>10 years behind bars for ‘stealing’ £60?</h3>
<p>SOCA is threatening anyone who has downloaded content from
RnBxclusive.com or even visited the website with investigation,
prosecution, and even jail sentences. </p>
<p>Once the police unit gained control of the RnBxclusive web site,
it posted a parked page carrying the following warning.</p>
<div><img src="cid:part2.01090906.09040502@apc.org" alt="SOCA′s
warning"><br>
SOCA's warning</div>
<p><em>“A 10-year prison sentence you’d expect to be handed down
for very serious offenses, sexual assaults and rape,
manslaughter,”</em> Andrew Pierson from the Howard League for
Penal Reform told RT. <em>“You would not normally expect it to be
handed down for downloading music illegally.” </em><br>
</p>
<p>The SOCA confirmed it had arrested the owner of the site, but
refused to tell RT why it is threatening users with a decade
behind bars. Instead, they sent this statement:</p>
<p><em>“SOCA targets organized criminal enterprises profiting from
the exploitation of the UK public and legitimate businesses.
Much of the music offered for download by the RnBxclusive.com
website was illegally obtained from artists, leading the
industry to attribute losses of approximately £15 million per
year to the site’s activity.”</em></p>
<p>A simple calculation shows that dividing £15 million even by
250,000 known users of RnBxclusive.com gives not more than £60
worth of “stolen” content per person. </p>
<p>Does that mean that the British judicial system believes 10 years
in prison correlate with the “theft” of just £60? <br>
</p>
<p><a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://rt.com/news/acta-uk-illegal-downloading-jail-753/">https://rt.com/news/acta-uk-illegal-downloading-jail-753/</a><br>
</p>
<div><img src="cid:part3.07090200.02050006@apc.org" alt=""><br>
</div>
<h3>Unprecedented intimidation</h3>
<p>The message sent by SOCA has given those concerned with Internet
freedom an unpleasant taste of what a more regulated future might
hold, if the ACTA treaty to protect online copyright infringement
and piracy goes ahead.</p>
<p><em>“It (SOCA) claimed that your IP address was being monitored,
so you could be monitored and tracked. Again, this was a move
which seems quite unprecedented in the UK,” </em>Loz Kaye from
the Pirate Party told RT. <em>“I’m really afraid that we’re going
to see this kind of abuse on an industrial scale if ACTA comes
to pass,”</em> he said.</p>
<p>After a shocked response from Internet campaigners, SOCA has
taken down the harsh message, and replaced it with a simpler one,
which just says they have taken control of the domain. <br>
</p>
<p>But it has already caused much worry and distress, with many
Twitter users apparently unaware that they were visiting a dodgy
site, and certainly never dreaming they might be liable to do time
for it.</p>
<p>Internet campaigners say the notice was meant to frighten – and
in reality, severe penalties could not be applied to casual
downloaders. They also argue there is nothing to link RnBxclusive
with criminal gangs. So why is SOCA even involved?</p>
<p>What began with threats of cutting users’ Internet connections
has grown today into intimidation, with people being threatened,
in all seriousness, with a decade behind bars.</p>
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