The Dutch government is planning to apply a new copyright policy, which will not allow unathorized downloading of copyrighted music, videos and digital books.
Until now, Netherlands allowed users to download copyrighted songs and movies without penalty, as long as they are for personal use.
Fred Teeven, the Dutch minister of Justice and Security is about to change that, by expanding the existing copyright law already applied for downloading of software and games to movies, digital books and music.
According to the
plan, downloading copyrighted music and movies from illegal sources will be illegal. However, Teeven said that consumers should not be afrais of "criminalization," since there will not be introduced any "three-strikes" law in the Netheralnds, as it had been adopted in France and Britain.
The Dutch government wants to push the change as a way of making it simpler to block foreign websites. Dealing with sites inside the Netherlands can be dealt with under existing Dutch law, but the country wants to block sites that are based outside its borders. The change on downloading will make it much easier to block sites that claim they only facilitate downloads but not uploads.
Teeven's plan would also eliminate the extra fees for personal copying built into "blank media." "Technology has overtaken the private copying regime," said the government's announcement. "There is therefore no room for the private copying levies. New levies on devices such as MP3 players, laptops, DVD recorders, and USB sticks are undesirable. The same applies to a tax on Internet subscriptions."