For many years, we've seen the entertainment industry make totally bogus and unsubstantiated claims about file sharing sites being hotbeds of child pornography in an effort to get them to regulate or shut down those services. Of course, the actual evidence shows that file sharing porn is no worse than what's on the wider internet. But that doesn't stop the entertainment industry from making such bogus claims -- and it seems like they're gleefully admitting it these days. Jamie Love points us to an account of an event in Sweden, entitled "Sweden -- A Safe Haven for Pirates?" put on by the US Chamber of Commerce, where someone from the Danish "Anti-Piracy" group spoke out about how great child pornography is, because it makes it easy for them to get politicians to block or shut down file sharing sites.

"Child pornography is great," the speaker at the podium [Johan Schluter] declared enthusiastically. "It is great because politicians understand child pornography. By playing that card, we can get them to act, and start blocking sites. And once they have done that, we can get them to start blocking file sharing sites".

Of course, this is no surprise, but having him say so directly is a bit surprising. He goes on to admit that the entertainment industry is planning to use child porn as a wedge to demand "a giant filter" for copyright:

"One day we will have a giant filter that we develop in close cooperation with IFPI and MPA. We continuously monitor the child porn on the net, to show the politicians that filtering works. Child porn is an issue they understand."

Of course, those filters don't actually work, and using them to force entire sites to be blocked, despite them having a relatively tiny proportion of such content isn't just dishonest and underhanded, but dangerous. We're all in favor of trying to stop child porn, but you do that by focusing on the source, not by putting up filters willy-nilly in a misguided attempt to get politicians to also protect your business model.

Either way, it's incredibly disgusting to have anyone claim that child porn is "great," just because it can be improperly exploited for the sake of protecting another industry's business model. That he's basically admitting that he doesn't remotely care about stopping child pornography, but prefers to use it to his advantage is downright sickening.

Reminds me of when someone had stashed some porn on the old Dennis forum ftp server

I would not even put it past the media industries to uploading child porn onto sites to justify their claims that file sharers are paedophiles, and therefore all sites must be blocked.

I'm not sure I'd put it past some of them to be making the child porn for that purpose.

Don't let Bratty read this thread or there will be a ghastly new conspiracy theory doing the rounds soon.

"There has grown up in the minds of certain groups in this country the notion that because a man or corporation has made a profit out of the public for a number of years, the government and the courts are charged with the duty of guaranteeing such profit in the future, even in the face of changing circumstances and contrary public interest. This strange doctrine is not supported by statute nor common law. Neither individuals nor corporations have any right to come into court and ask that the clock of history be stopped or turned back, for their private benefit."

Reminds me of when someone had stashed some porn on the old Dennis forum ftp server

Lol, what happened?

Don't let Bratty read this thread or there will be a ghastly new conspiracy theory doing the rounds soon.