Internet censorship in Ireland
Encyclopedia
Internet censorship in Ireland is currently a controversial issue, including a drive to censor the Internet
in Ireland
starting in 2008 with the introduction of a graduated response
policy followed by an effort to block certain sites which started in February 2009. In contrast to similar drives in countries including Australia
this is being driven entirely by commercial interests rather than politicians under the pretext of sensitive issues such as child pornography
. According to the Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland
:
Grassroots campaigns including "Blackout Ireland" and "Boycott Eircom" have been established to protest the censorship.
blacklist including common words like porn.
Connect.ie, a Dublin based Internet Service Provider
was subjected to a denial of service attack by hackers believed to be acting at the behest and with support from a faction of the Indonesian military. At the time Connect.ie was hosting the .tp
toplevel domain on behalf of people East Timor during the Indonesia
n occupation of East Timor
, the toplevel domain was temporarily disabled during the attack.
policy is currently being encouraged by the Irish Recorded Music Association
who are urging ISPs in Ireland
into sending warning letters and blocking content which it believes is damaging the music industry. According to a report published by solicitors McCann Fitzgerald this is the first implementation in Europe of the three strikes system that record companies are lobbying to bring on throughout:
who represent EMI
, Sony-BMG , Warner Bros.
and Universal
are seeking that Eircom
along with all other major Irish ISPs block access to file sharing
sites such as The Pirate Bay
and Mininova
.
Letters explaining the plans were delivered to Irish ISPs including Blacknight and Eircom
on the 13th of February 2009, calling for them to participate in the block or face possible legal action.
Eircom have announced they will implement the block on The Pirate Bay from the 1 September 2009. Other ISPs, including UPC Ireland
and BT Ireland
are resisting pressure from IRMA.
leglislation by Digital Rights Ireland
. Although many documents were refused, the list of said items mentions a meeting between the Department of Justice and Law Reform and Vodafone
, an email from 3
listing filtering technologies it uses and an item about a meeting between the Office of Internet Safety and the Garda Síochána
on the proposed introduction of internet blocking.
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
starting in 2008 with the introduction of a graduated response
Graduated response
Graduated response, also known as three strikes, is an approach, adopted in several countries, aimed at addressing online copyright infringement....
policy followed by an effort to block certain sites which started in February 2009. In contrast to similar drives in countries including Australia
Internet censorship in Australia
Internet censorship in Australia currently consists of a regulatory regime under which the Australian Communications and Media Authority has the power to enforce content restrictions on Internet content hosted within Australia, and maintain a "black-list" of overseas websites which is then...
this is being driven entirely by commercial interests rather than politicians under the pretext of sensitive issues such as child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
. According to the Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland
Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland
The Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland ,or ISPAI, is a non profit company established in 1998 that represents various Irish Internet Service Providers.It is a member of EuroISPA...
:
"Internet Service Providers in Ireland have recently received letters threatening legal action from solicitors representing four major music recording companies. This legal action is spurious and there is no evidence of wrong-doing by Internet Service Providers. These actions could impact on user privacy, damage the development of new internet services, and hurt Ireland's standing as an eCommerce hub."
Grassroots campaigns including "Blackout Ireland" and "Boycott Eircom" have been established to protest the censorship.
History
In 2006 The Irish domain registry IEDR was criticised for maintaining a domain nameDomain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
blacklist including common words like porn.
Connect.ie, a Dublin based Internet Service Provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
was subjected to a denial of service attack by hackers believed to be acting at the behest and with support from a faction of the Indonesian military. At the time Connect.ie was hosting the .tp
.tp
.tp was the listed Internet country code top-level domain for East Timor. The letters used refer to Timor Português or Portuguese Timor a legacy from the nation's previous status as a Portuguese colony...
toplevel domain on behalf of people East Timor during the Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n occupation of East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
, the toplevel domain was temporarily disabled during the attack.
Graduated response
A graduated responseGraduated response
Graduated response, also known as three strikes, is an approach, adopted in several countries, aimed at addressing online copyright infringement....
policy is currently being encouraged by the Irish Recorded Music Association
Irish Recorded Music Association
Irish Recorded Music Association is the Irish record industry association. IRMA is a non-profit association set up to manage and control the music industry in the Republic of Ireland.-Goals and activities:...
who are urging ISPs in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
into sending warning letters and blocking content which it believes is damaging the music industry. According to a report published by solicitors McCann Fitzgerald this is the first implementation in Europe of the three strikes system that record companies are lobbying to bring on throughout:
- Once notified of the IP addresses, eircom will first inform the broadband subscriber that their IP address has been used in connection with illegal activities. At this stage, subscribers who claim they are the victim of “wi-fi hijacking” (where someone else uses their wi-fi network to access the internet) will have the opportunity to clarify their situation and upgrade the security of their connection if required.
- If a subscriber is then found to still be infringing, they will be warned that failure to cease infringing activities will result in their being disconnected by eircom.
- Continued failure to comply and cease infringing activity will result in the subscriber being disconnected.
Censorship
IRMAIrish Recorded Music Association
Irish Recorded Music Association is the Irish record industry association. IRMA is a non-profit association set up to manage and control the music industry in the Republic of Ireland.-Goals and activities:...
who represent EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, Sony-BMG , Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
and Universal
Universal Records
Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...
are seeking that Eircom
Eircom
Eircom Group LTD is a telecommunications company in the Republic of Ireland, and a former state-owned incumbent. It is currently the largest telecommunications operator in the Republic of Ireland and operates primarily on the island of Ireland, with a point of presence in Great Britain.As Bord...
along with all other major Irish ISPs block access to file sharing
File sharing
File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multimedia , documents, or electronic books. It may be implemented through a variety of ways...
sites such as The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay is a Swedish website which hosts magnet links and .torrent files, which allow users to share electronic files, including multimedia, computer games and software via BitTorrent...
and Mininova
Mininova
Mininova is a website offering BitTorrent downloads. Mininova was once one of the largest sites offering torrents of copyrighted material, but in November 2009, following legal action in the Dutch courts, the site operators deleted all torrent files uploaded by regular users including torrents that...
.
Letters explaining the plans were delivered to Irish ISPs including Blacknight and Eircom
Eircom
Eircom Group LTD is a telecommunications company in the Republic of Ireland, and a former state-owned incumbent. It is currently the largest telecommunications operator in the Republic of Ireland and operates primarily on the island of Ireland, with a point of presence in Great Britain.As Bord...
on the 13th of February 2009, calling for them to participate in the block or face possible legal action.
Eircom have announced they will implement the block on The Pirate Bay from the 1 September 2009. Other ISPs, including UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland is Liberty Global Europe's telecommunications operation in Ireland. UPC Ireland is the largest digital cable television provider within the Republic of Ireland. As of September 2010 the company offers broadband internet, digital television and digital telephony to over 531,000 customers...
and BT Ireland
BT Ireland
BT Communications Limited is a telecommunications and internet company in Ireland. It is a subsidiary of BT Group plc.-Esat Telecom:The company was founded in 1990 by Denis O'Brien, and was originally known as Esat Telecom...
are resisting pressure from IRMA.
Talks on blocking internet access
In April 2010 the Irish government was revealed to have held discussions to introduce internet blocking. The documents were obtained under Freedom of informationFreedom of information
Freedom of information refers to the protection of the right to freedom of expression with regards to the Internet and information technology . Freedom of information may also concern censorship in an information technology context, i.e...
leglislation by Digital Rights Ireland
Digital Rights Ireland
Digital Rights Ireland is an digital rights advocacy and lobbying group based in the Republic of Ireland. The group works for civil liberties in a digital age.- Telecommunications data retention :...
. Although many documents were refused, the list of said items mentions a meeting between the Department of Justice and Law Reform and Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
, an email from 3
Hutchison 3G
3 is a brand name under which several UMTS-based mobile phone networks and Broadband Internet Providers are operated in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom...
listing filtering technologies it uses and an item about a meeting between the Office of Internet Safety and the Garda Síochána
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
on the proposed introduction of internet blocking.