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The music and film distribution industries are in crisis; 20 years ago, they were needed because mass distribution of media was otherwise impossible, but today their service is no longer useful or necessary. So why should we start censoring the Internet because of their failure to adapt their business models? Imagine if high cost airlines had asked for Internet Censorship because Ryanair was taking all their business by flying people to Europe for a fiver.

In countries such as China and Zimbabwe, brave activists and bloggers put their lives on the line to report the human rights abuses and sufferings they see in their own country. Those who hold the keys to the gates of the Internet in such countries try to shut them off; to stop them telling their story. It might seem perverse to compare governments trying to supress the plight of such people to the efforts of Sony-BMG, Universal and Warner and EMI (IRMA) to get certain websites banned. However when you start banning areas of the Internet in the manner the record companies are suggesting, then the effect is the same. Once you open the floodgates of censorship claims, then you will have the world and its mother claiming that this Wikipedia article or that text available through Google books should be censored. Or that person's opinion. Because the true ultimate target of the Big Four that comprise IRMA is not the prevention of piracy - this is a smokescreen - rather it is to shut off the areas of the Internet piece by piece, so that they can regain control over the content you consume. For most of the last century they controlled the TV, movies, music and art you would enjoy - and they could charge what they want. But fast forward to the new millennium and think about all the time you spend on the Internet - be it sharing photos on Facebook, searching for news on BBC's website or beavering away on your blog. Think about how much you pay for this; other than your Internet connection it's all pretty much free. Now compare this to the amount of money you would have had to spent in order to watch a purchased DVD or play a console game after buying it. Consider how much you spend on cable TV packages or going to the cinema. This is why these movie studios fear an uncensored Internet - because we've realised that interacting and sharing with each other is far more interesting than watching what these companies are trying to push on us. It just so happens that this form of entertainment is a lot cheaper - and less revenue generating for the recording industry. It was never supposed to be this way.

The likes of IRMA are not taking this lying down. The recording companies are threatening Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and hosting companies and they are actively spying on Internet users. If they succeed in their censorship efforts it will only make them hungrier to seek to gain more control over content. Companies such as the cable providers have tried to create a two-tier Internet before so that their own content downloads to your computer much quicker than general Internet content. This is to lock you into their products. In order to avoid been held captive to such companies' nefarious practices, many people, including the founder of the Word Wide Web - Tim Berners Lee - has called for the principle of Net Neutrality to be upheld. This guarantees that the Internet is a level playing field and that every website or service has an equal right to have its data delivered to your computer in a timely manner.

If every company that failed to adapt to a changing market place lead to Internet censorship then instead of Bank Bailouts we would have Internet Blackouts. This is exactly the message that Blackout Ireland would like to communicate to you and every other citizen out there. We need a free Internet that is regulated by criminal law not; not a blacked out Internet crippled by civil law exploited by commercially-motivated companies. These civil law techniques, which themselves seem harmless, become very dangerous when an Internet Service Provider, such as Eircom, says that it will never oppose a court order from IRMA, no matter what the claim. This is what Eircom has said. This is the danger that now faces Eircom customers and this is a dangerous precedent that could well spread to other ISPs and to other countries within Europe. Act now if you want want to help raise awareness. Email your ISP and politicians to let them know of your concern. Blackout out your Facebook avatars. Blackout out your Twitter avatars. Before Eircom blackout the Internet to you.

Keep up-to-date with Blackout Ireland at BlackoutIreland.com.

• OpinionPiece
• Eircom
• Censorship
• Blackout
• Ireland