A Modest Proposal: ISPs Should Stop Any Activity That Hurts A Business Model

from the it's-their-responsibility-after-all dept

With the entertainment industry's new push to force ISPs to somehow filter or block the transfer of any kind of copyrighted material, Charles Arthur is wondering why other industries facing massive business model challenges can't do the same thing? Newspapers, as has been well documented, are facing challenges from the likes of Craigslist and Google -- so why not have ISPs block those sites? And plenty of people are discussing news articles, even to the point of copying-and-pasting articles. Clearly, ISPs should be protecting the newspaper industry. But that's not all. Arthur points to some other industries that ISPs should help protect, such as auto mechanics and needlepoint pattern makers -- both of whom have faced market changes thanks to the internet. If only ISPs would block the sharing of information on how to fix your own car or how to create needlepoints -- both of those important industries could be protected. Or, as Arthur concludes, perhaps all of these industries could adapt to the changing market. But what are the chances of that happening?

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