Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Ars Technica: U2 manager calls Safe Harbor a "Thieves' Charter"

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080129-u2-manager-calls-safe-harbor-a-thieves-charter.html
"Paul McGuinness, U2 manager, took the stage at the Midem music industry conference in Cannes yesterday to back the IFPI party line: it's time to take the fight over file-swapping to the ISPs. McGuinness railed against those companies that have "built multibillion-dollar industries on the back of our content without paying for it."

McGuinness wants to stop going after individual file-swappers and go right to the industry that makes file-swapping possible: ISPs. He hopes to shift the "moral pressure" to Internet providers and "shame them into wanting to help us." He also thinks that most technology gurus are countercultural hippies, Deadheads, and Abbie Hoffman disciples (Steal This Book is mentioned as particularly pernicious influence). How else to explain the fact the tech companies don't want to help the music business more?"

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