Many people will view the iiNET victory today as pure piracy related decision. For me the success of iiNET is a victory for the ‘internet as a utility’. I believe that an open internet is essential to the economic advancement of this country. The openess of the internet seems to be under constant attack around the world: blacklists, deep packet inspection and copyright policing.
In this era of utility de-regulation we must recognize the internet for what it is: a critical piece of our national infrastructure.
Now to piracy. I’m by no means an advocate for piracy. I’m also moderately offended by these ‘pirate parties’ who have spread their naive brand of idealism here to our shores. However I’m also no fan of the music/media companies who stick to an unpopular business model. I’d spend more money on their products if they would deliver them in modern and respectful ways. Since they generally refuse to do that (especially in this country) I simply don’t consume their product.
What the applicants in the iiNET action did is disgraceful. They targeted a utility provider in a effort to defend their dead business models. I can only hope that this victory is cast in the right context: the defense of the internet utilities. I will no doubt loathe the response of the techno-anarchist ‘spokespirates’ and their inevitable celebration of the court victory.
