
UK plan to create Pirate Finder General: power to appoint militias, create laws - RyanMcGreal
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/19/breaking-leaked-uk-g.html
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Edinburger
Very sad. When I read the headline I thought they might be going after _real_
pirates like the ones off the coast of Somalia. Seems like that would be a
more worthwhile use of taxpayer's money.

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lil_cain
Seems like we should wait till we have some kind of _actual_ confirmation of
whether the UK government is planning on doing something like this before we
jump to conclusions. Actual confirmation, not just someone on the internet
syaing they know someone who says they're planning something. I don't think
this would pass muster with Labour back benches.

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steveklabnik
I'd like to think that the more draconian they make laws like this, the faster
they'll fall.

I'm just not so sure...

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andyking
They're already all but gone. There will be an election by next May and they
are expected to lose heavily - there is currently a spate of legislation
they're attempting to shove through in a rush before they're booted out.

However, I can't see the next (Tory) government being particularly sympathetic
to the interests of file-sharers. We can expect more of the same, if not
worse.

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Xichekolas
Isn't the cat already out of the bag?

I mean, creating laws like "three strikes and you lose internet access" might
have worked years ago, but now _everyone_ is used to downloading media online.

Laws that effectively make the majority of citizens into criminals (America's
drug laws, for instance) tend to just be ignored, no matter how draconian.

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cstross
They may be ignored, but they can still do a lot of damage. Consider all the
folks languishing in prison for possession of small amounts of the wrong
neurotransmitter agonist.

 _This_ mess -- if it goes through -- will do for your ability to keep
information private what the war on drugs did for your ability to keep your
home life private: that is, it'll give the cops not merely the power (which
they already have) but the incentive to carry out intrusive searches.

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acg
I doubt this would be unilateral action, perhaps this is the UK's part of
ACTA? <http://www.eff.org/issues/acta>

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lucumo
Sensational headline, righteous tone and an anonymous source. It has all the
markings of a ... _cough_ ... reliable article.

