Internet providers forced to police the Internet, hate the EU government

A new report from the organization European Digital Rights (EDRI) revealed that an increasing number of European Union member states are delegating online policing to private sector companies and Internet service providers, provoking anger and concerns of the latter.

If previously it was law enforcement agencies who addressed the problem of illegal online content, now more powers are given to ISPs so that the industry would regulate itself independently. The trend is likely to be implemented widely with increasing "extra-judicial sanctions" against consumers.

Meantime, the new legislation leaves intermediaries concerned and unsure about whether they are liable for the actions of consumers over their networks. So-called "three strikes" laws, under which alleged copyright infringers receive three warnings before their Internet connection is cut off, put the onus on Internet service providers to police customers. Such laws currently appear in some form in French, Irish and U.K. legislation, where they have met with anger from ISPs. In France, the law can impose a fine and a one-year Internet connection suspension.

International trade agreements such as the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), and bilateral trade agreements the E.U. has signed with India and South Korea, all leave the door open for intermediary liability.

"The European Commission appears far from perturbed by the dangers for fundamental rights of this approach and appears keen to export the approach. This process is gradually strangling the openness that is at the core of the Internet. This openness has enhanced democracy, has shaken dictatorships and has boosted economies worldwide. This openness is what we will lose through privatized policing of the Internet by private companies," said Joe McNamee, Advocacy Coordinator at European Digital Rights.