Communication Minister Malcolm Turnbull has weighed in on the online piracy debate, stating that while he thinks Australians shouldn’t download illegal content, internet service providers should not be required to impose sanctions against them.
The debate comes as the Federal government discusses how it will crack down on internet piracy. “I am a passionate defender of the internet and freedom on the internet,” Malcolm Turnbull said in a radio interview with ABC’s AM today, “but freedom on the internet doesn’t mean freedom to steal.”
Mr Turnbull challenged content owners to explain why films and TV shows are not more easily and cheaply available or sometimes not available at all in Australia at the same time as they are overseas. “There is an obligation on the content owners, if their concerns are to be taken seriously by government,” he said, “they have to play their part to make their content available universally and affordably.”
“Anyone is entitled to sell their products for whatever price they like, that is their right, but if you want to discourage piracy the best thing you can do is to make your content available globally, universally and affordably.”
This week the government unveiled proposals aimed at stopping piracy which included forcing internet service providers (ISP) to block overseas sites known to offer illegal access to content and to compel ISPs to stop users illegally downloading movies and music.
The Communications Minister said that while he thought it was reasonable for copyright owners to ask ISPs to deliver warnings to customers who were illegally downloading, he did not find it reasonable for the ISP to be forced to take action.
Mr Turnbull also said that rights holders and content providers should look for example in the music industry that offer subscription streaming services as an example of how to deliver up-to-date content at a small fee.
“If you look at what the music industry has done making songs available at low cost on Spotify and Pandora…you reduce the incentive for people to do the wrong thing. So everyone has to play their part,” he continued.
“The content owners in the debate that’s going to follow on this discussion paper, they’re the ones that have got to justify why they are charging more to Australians. They’ve got to make their case too.”
