Uh-Oh.
Well fuck.

In 2006, a Japanese ISP decided to plan measures to stop their subscribers using file-sharing software, by tracking their activities and disconnecting them from the Internet. The plan didn’t come to fruition as the government stepped in and said that such monitoring might have privacy implications.

Now, under huge pressure from the movie, music and software industries, the four major ISP organizations in Japan are at it again, and have agreed to take drastic action against online pirates.

According to the report in Yomiuri Shimbun, the agreement would see copyright holders tracking down file-sharers on the Internet using “special detection software” and then notifying ISPs of alleged infringers. ISPs would first send out emailed warnings to those traced, then interrupt the Internet connection if action to cease the activity isn’t taken. For persistent breaches, the ISP would ultimately terminate the accounts of its subscribers.

I suspect the "special detection software" can't detect files of suspect legality, just activity, otherwise there wouldn't be a blanket ban. Which makes me wonder, will the definition of file-sharing be confined to peer-to-peer programs, or might could all downloading be deemed guilty until proven innocent?

This strikes me as a backdoor end to net neutrality, with only approved (read high paying) sharing sources exempt from disconnect.

Do you know who else thinks this shit is a good idea? U fucking 2, which put a deeply flawed anti-piracy proposal by their manager on their website. World poverty, sure. A rational approach to techonology, MYMONEYMYMONEYFUCKYOU.