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Call the cops. When it comes to file-sharing, the police are exceeding their brief.

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Do you own a website? More to the point, do you own a bespoke domain name? I only ask because the City of London Police's brand new 'Intellectual Property Crime Unit' is hoping to get off to a flying start by attempting seize control of domains they suspect of hosting or facilitating pirated material. And I stress the word 'suspect'.

Earlier this month, the unit started to issue urgent demands to domain registrars.  The communications resulted in a couple of sites, 'SumoTorrent' and 'MisterTorrent' losing ownership of  their domain names after it was established they were breaching UK copyright law. Letters were also sent to registrars concerning other 'pirate' websites, such as 'emp3world.com'.
This is what they said:

“The owners of the aforementioned domains are suspected to be involved in the criminal distribution of copyrighted material either directly or indirectly and are liable to prosecution under UK law for the following offences: Conspiracy to Defraud, Offences under the Fraud Act 2006, Copyright, Design & Patents Act 1988, should a conviction be brought for the above offences, UK courts may impose sentences of imprisonment and/or fines. PIPCU has criminal and civil powers in UK law to seize money, belongings and any property in connection with these offences.”

The Police also asked that traffic to the torrent sites be diverted to a landing page with the City of carrying the London Police logo and a severe warning.

Fair play, you might think. The sites were running peer-to-peer networks, allowing users to illegally exchange copyrighted content. They were caught and had their collars felt. But if only it were that simple.

To my mind, the affair raises both legal and cultural questions. Let's look at the legal aspect first.

In the UK, the police have a very specific role, which is to ensure those suspected of breaking the laws of the day are apprehended and, where appropriate, charged. It is not within their remit to decide on anyone's guilt, nor to select punishments and oversee their execution. That's what courts and judges are for.  Except, it would seem, when it comes to intervening in the activities of suspected torrent websites. Imagine receiving a letter saying your car had been seized and crushed, on the request of the police, who believe it may or may not have been involved  in a crime. Pressuring domain registrars into handing over web addresses is no different. It assumes guilt and applies sanction without independent adjudication.

So, if this is all so unjust, how and why has it happened? That's the cultural part. Time and again, those with authority and power (usually the Government, but the police too) have shown they have little grasp of the internet and the way in which it functions (you may remember the clumsy efforts of Mr. Cameron to intercept online pornography, earlier this year). The very fact an 'Intellectual Property Crime Unit' has only just been established, when the web has been with us for at least twenty years, tells us as much.

And yet we can be certain a substantial sum has been sunk into the team, in the supremely naive belief that the sharing of files over the internet can somehow be eradicated.  In truth, they'd have more luck eliminating swearing.

Sooner or later, artists, governments, law-enforcement agencies and all other interested parties, are going to have to face an unwelcome truth. The genie is out of the bottle. The ways in which people obtain and consume books, movies and music has changed irrevocably. Right or wrong, file sharing is not going to disappear any time soon. That has to be the starting point of a strategy to make the technology work for everybody. Until then, the pursuit of torrent sites and their users will continue to be a spectacular waste of time and money, no matter how much the 'Intellectual Property Crime Unit' flexes its muscles.

Magnus Shaw is a writer, blogger and consultant

(Additional information via The Drum)

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