Australian consumer group Choice has launched a crowdfunded ad campaign mocking the government's proposed and movie industry backed anti-piracy crackdown.
The crackdown could see everything from filters and ISP account disconnections being deployed to fight the piracy problem in Australia, which in recent years has grown due to various reasons.
The ad, uploaded to YouTube, shows a "fake minister" touting a "foolproof" plan to stop Internet piracy. The "plan", as portrayed in the ad, consists of a poorly constructed and falling apart mechanical device that labels itself as an Internet filter, a device that clearly does not work.
"The increased price we'll all pay for the internet will be worth it for this 100-per-cent effective solution," the fake minister says in the advert.
Critics have labeled the government's proposals as a wishlist for the Hollywood backed copyright lobby, and argues that these measures, including blocking sites like The Pirate Bay, will be ineffective if the real cause of the piracy problem is not addressed.
"The Pirate Bay is the most blocked website in the world and they have no trouble doubling their traffic year-on-year," says Electronic Frontiers Australia executive director Jon Lawrence.
Similarly, Choice says that the current piracy epidemic is caused by access and availability problems, made worse by the geo-blocking of affordable overseas service and, at the same time, the premium added to content made available here (and usually with a delayed release window).
"What we are looking for is affordable content, opening up access to international content markets," said Choice campaign manager Erin Turner.
"We don't expect this will stamp out piracy 100 per cent - there will still be people who will illegally download no matter what - but if you want to fix the bulk of the problem in Australia then the best starting point is looking at this as a market and trying to find a market-based solution."
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