The United Kingdom’s High Court is ordering ISPs there to block access to copyright infringer The Pirate Bay. This UK decision is the latest by a string of countries to ban the site best known for providing access to bootleg copies of movies and music via BitTorrent.
But let’s face it. The same person who is going to use BitTorrent to pirate content has the tech skills to use proxy servers and other means to access what they want. It’s the typical Web user who is now faces censorship through Internet blacklisting even when that person has never engaged in copyright infringement.
This is a slippery slope for any nation to take when it comes to cyberspace. As we’ve seen in the offline world, when the government decides what’s best for you, you lose your rights as an individual to do just about anything — choosing your own doctor, driving a vehicle with low gas mileage, owning a gun, etc.
For the government who blacklists someone else’s site today, can come up with a “good” reason to blacklist yours tomorrow.
