Information Society Watch

July 2007, CIO

In what could be a significant way in which the Internet is governed, a court in Belgium has ruled that responsibility for blocking of illegal file sharing falls on Internet Service Providers (ISP). In a first of it's kind ruling, the court has given six months to ISPs to install technology to prevent its customers from sharing pirated music and video files. While some might argue that this is a one-off local ruling, it does not escape the fact that it will definitely impact the way the Internet is governed. For starters, it would give governments a direct control over the broadcasting of content over the Internet and change the very understanding of Internet itself.

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