UK File-Sharing Laws Unenforceable On Mobile Networks

superglaze writes "UK mobile broadband providers currently have no way of telling which subscribers are file-sharing which copyrighted content, ZDNet UK reports. This represents something of a problem for new laws that have been proposed to crack down on unlawful file-sharing. According to the article, databases (tracking IP address mappings) could be built to make it possible to identify what specific users are downloading, but the industry is loathe to fund this sort of project itself. Also, as an analyst points out in the piece, users of prepaid phone cards are mostly anonymous in the UK, which creates another challenge for the government's plans. And if that isn't enough, connection-sharing apps like JoikuBoost would make identification pretty much impossible anyway."

Re:Of Course...

[RobVB]

end up paying rather more than retail for them...

You can't put a price on freedom!

Re:Good.

[Anonymous Coward]

In Soviet Russia identity tracking software tracks YOU!

oh, wait, that can't be right...

Telling users how to get away with piracy?

[syousef]

Who hijacked slashdot for this "story"? Is the slashdot torrent tracker next? I guess it's not too far a stretch. Instead of 100 inane "frist post" comments they're all be converted to "Please seed" instead. Instead of flamewars about Apple, Microsoft, or Google, we can all start flames about the torrents containing viruses or whose torrent of the latest 0 dayz warez is better than whose. Welcome to the new slashdot. Not so different to the old!

Lord Mandelson's response

[Kupfernigk]

The Government loves Rupert Murdoch and the media companies - I must kill filesharers! But the Government loves Vodafone, O2 and Three - I must protect the revenue of the telephone companies! There is a conflict in my Prime Directive!

Head explodes.