Don't levy the Internet, says MPA

Report from the ISP Future Content Models and Enforcment Strategies Summit 2008, Kensington, London

The Motion Picture Association (MPA) - the Hollywood trade association - has weighed into the debate around an Internet levy to pay for publicly-funded entertainment with a clear 'no'. Speaking at the ISP Future Content Models and Enforcement Strategies Summit 2008, Ted Shapiro, MPA legal counsel, warned against "turning the Internet into one big compulsory licence". Expanding on what he meant, he said "you pay your ISP a few Euros per month and we all get a cheque.

The possibility of a levy on the Internet is being quietly floated by a number of people as an option to deal with file-sharing, and to generate money for content production. I have mostly heard it from members of the rights-holder community, such as the British music industry, and the French cultural lobby. The people more likely to oppose it, are the ISPs themselves - and that could make for an interesting partnership option for the MPA.