Madam, – Yesterday Eircom was blocking access to The Pirate Bay, (the popular file-sharing website) for all Irish users (Home News, September 1st). All access has been blocked including any legitimate content such as news or statements issued by that site. In effect, one private company, at the behest of private recording companies which refuses to adapt its business practices to the digital age, has decided that I am incapable of using the internet without supervision. I am no longer free to access the internet as I wish, and I suspect that many other sites with legitimate content will soon be beyond my reach.
Granted, the vast majority of Irish people do not use The Pirate Bay, so this Iranian-level block will not affect them. But if you don’t object on the principle of freedom of speech then maybe the issue of cost might sway you.
More and more sites will eventually be blocked, and as people find ways around these blocks and the sites themselves modify their IP addresses, Eircom will have to spend an increasing amount of time and energy to keep track of all these changes. This, of course, will cost money and it is Eircom customers, the majority of whom do not use torrent sites, who will pay.
I view this as the digital equivalent of banning books and, while not a regular user of the Pirate Bay, am going to switch providers as soon as possible. No one, be they a private Irish company, foreign music company or any government, will tell me what I can and cannot access on the internet as and when I choose. – Yours, etc,