The trade group which represents game developers in the UK and Europe has slammed a British proposal to tax all users of broadband Internet services.
The measure, submitted by Communications Minister Lord Carter, is designed to compensate media companies for losses due to online piracy.
However, MCV UK reports that Richard Wilson, CEO of game developers organization Tiga, ridiculed the idea as, "the tax policy of Alice in Wonderland."
Here are more of Wilson's comments:
The idea that a universal tax on broadband bills should be imposed in order to compensate entertainment companies for losses incurred from piracy and illegal downloads is wrong in principle. Innocent people should not be required to pay heavier broadband bills because of the activities of criminals...
Government policy should aim to provide broadband... at the lowest possible price to consumers and businesses. The last thing that UK businesses need in the current economic climate is another tax... A Broadband tax makes no sense. It is the tax policy of Alice in Wonderland.
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Re: UK Game Devs Say No to "Alice in Wonderland" Piracy Tax
I say this is the direction governments need to go in. How else can they control piracy? I've always sort of seen it only as controllable at the tap. If you're using a lot of fuel (bandwidth) then you should pay up. What else are you doing with the bandwidth?
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Re: UK Game Devs Say No to "Alice in Wonderland" Piracy Tax
How naive of you to think like that, so because I use alot of bandwidth I'm now branded a pirate? or I should pay an extra £20 because I download alot of things? None of my bandwidth usage is illigal, I download Movies, game and music and I get it all from legal distributors such as Direct2Drive, iTunes and 4OD, But because i'm downloading large things AND paying for them I'm now automatically stealing.
So lets look at it this way, I purchase movies on Xbox live, they are abou 1GB each, I download music and videos from iTunes, I download and stream TV material from 4OD and download PC games from Direct2Drive, I'm already annoyed at most of these services for putting DRM on my PC to make sure I dont copy or re-distribute their precious material, and now your saying I should be paying extra because I'm using bandwidth that isnt falling under "unfair usage" that i'm already paying for and now you want me to pay £20 ontop of that because you feel its unfair that I'm downloading movies, songs and games?
I think you need to take a few steps back and look at the bigger picture here, this isn't just about stoping piracy, this is about them having the right to snoop into everything your doing in your day to day life on the internet, reading your emails, snooping in on your IM messages, watching what you buy. They will have the right to watch you do everything on the internet and once you welcome the idea you wont be able to get rid of it.
Re: UK Game Devs Say No to "Alice in Wonderland" Piracy Tax
I love this idea ... since you are already taxing me making me essentially pay for stolen items that means I can steal them hell I paid for them so technically Im not even stealing anymore I am just acquring the items I already paid for.
I see many lawsuits in England's future over Hey I paid for the stupid thing through your compensate the Fat Cat Program why shouldn't I download it.
Re: UK Game Devs Say No to "Alice in Wonderland" Piracy Tax
I believe something like that has already happened in Canada where they have a blank media tax. It did not go well for the music industry.
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Re: UK Game Devs Say No to "Alice in Wonderland" Piracy Tax
This is just another clue showing that corporations, not the people, are the real power behind government. The more effective lobbyists you have, the more power you have.
Our elected representatives are more and more becoming the middle man in what is effectively an extortion racket.
Re: UK Game Devs Say No to "Alice in Wonderland" Piracy Tax
Wait a minute since when was it the government's job to compensate people every time a criminal hurts them?
And why should everyone in the u.k. be forced to pay just because some people from all over the planet rob from media companies.
Punishing all for the sins of the few is and always has been completely stupid (unless of course you're trying to build teamwork but trying to get an entire country to act as one big team is a fool's errand).
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Re: UK Game Devs Say No to "Alice in Wonderland" Piracy Tax
IMO the media mafia(and that is what it it is a racket approved by government) needs to focus on profit and not distribution if you make money from distribution then there are repercussions you need to pay, simple shearing and "distribution"(fair use) that falls under our entitled rights supercedes their exclusive rights to distribution when they can not control it without begin granted rights of a branch of government.
So let them tax data storage and the net if that means we can freely trade things in non profit settings, free distribution leads media into new places and thus people will be compelled to buy from licensed retailers because those that can will support their favorite artists.
Besides with all that money going to media trade groups(RIAA,MPAA,ect,ect) all the unsigned artists can ban together and sue them for not shearing money made from taxes... it will be epic....
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Re: UK Game Devs Say No to "Alice in Wonderland" Piracy Tax
This along with the recent news that UK Government isn't going to force ISP's to disconnect file sharers is great! Seems like the onus is on the industry to find a new way around the behemoth that is p2p.
Plus, lol @ Kajex's comment.
Re: UK Game Devs Say No to "Alice in Wonderland" Piracy Tax
Well spoke.