Murdoch faces might of Google in anti-piracy war

James Murdoch's attack on online piracy yesterday, in which he compared people who download illegally to shoplifters, betrays the frustration of the entertainment industry at the inability of governments the world over to enact copyright protection in the digital age.

But Murdoch faces a determined campaign against any new regulation by the very companies who provide his customers with the means to consume his products - the Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

Murdoch, CEO of News Corp's European and Asian operations, inveighed against internet piracy at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit. "We need enforcement mechanisms and we need governments to play ball," he said. "There is no difference with going into a
store and stealing Pringles or a handbag and taking this stuff."

He went on: "There should be the same level of sanctity as there is around property. Content is no different. They're not crazy kids. No. Punish them." It was hardly surprising his speech elicited warm applause from the media executives in his audience.

Murdoch's anger is understandable considering the formidable alliance now ranged against him and his industry, which has mobilised in opposition to the British government's highly controversial Digital Economy Bill.

Measures contained in the proposed legislation, approved by the likes of News Corp, include cutting off internet access to people who persistently download copyrighted material. Such sanctions have seen the Bill branded as "draconian" and "an assault on human rights". They have also ensured the Bill faces a very difficult passage through the House of Lords.

The day before Murdoch's speech, a powerful group of ISPs and websites, including BT, Orange (owned by France Telecom), Google and Yahoo sent a letter to the Financial Times branding one amendment to the Bill as an assault on free speech.

The amendment in question would allow copyright holders to close down websites they suspect of piracy by slapping court injunctions on ISPs such as BT. Since the amendment also proposes that ISPs should pay the legal costs of the copyright holder, opponents say that in most cases the 'pirate' website would be shut down without the involvement of a judge.

In the letter, BT, Google and co called the amendment "poor lawmaking" and said it would "threaten freedom of speech and the open internet without reducing copyright infringement".

These companies are much more in tune with the public mood than are the music and film industries. Earlier this week, a poll of 27,000 adults across the world conducted on behalf of Murdoch's bete noir, the BBC, found that 80 per cent of people consider access to the internet to be a fundamental right. This is hardly consistent with a law that proposes to cut off internet access to people accused of online piracy.

BT and Google point out that the new measures are being rushed through at the "tail end of a parliament without any kind of consultation".

But Britain is not the only democratic country to propose draconian regulations for the internet – nor the only one to attract the displeasure of Google. Australia's plans to rate websites and force ISPs to block those labelled by the government as 'refused classification' provoked a statement from the internet search giant condemning the measures as "heavy-handed".

While the BBC's poll also found that half of Britons believe there should be some kind of government regulation of the internet, it seems the jury is still out on what form such regulations should take. ·