Internet companies have written an open letter to Putin about the dangers of Mikhalkov’s bill



    The largest Internet companies and associations of copyright holders wrote an open letter to President Putin asking them not to accept N. Mikhalkov’s proposal for a fixed fundraising from Internet providers in favor of the Russian Union of Copyright Holders (RSP). Mikhalkov, on behalf of the RSP, personally presented to Putin in October 2014 a concept according to which it is necessary to collect a fixed amount from Internet providers (in fact, from all users) for the use of copyrighted materials. Such an amount in the amount of $ 200-600 million per year should be transferred to the RSP, which will then distribute it among authors and copyright holders. Approximately the same scheme now works to collect 1% of the cost from manufacturers and importers of audio and video equipment, which was also introduced at the initiative of the RSP.

    According to Lenta.ru , the letter, the text of which is not yet available to the general public, says: “We, representatives of the Russian Internet industry, copyright holders and telecom companies, believe that the concept and project, if implemented, can cause serious harm to citizens” . It states that the proposed introduction of a tax on the use of the Internet for all citizens “in favor of a certain group of individuals”, as well as the introduction of a system for recording and analyzing all traffic similar to the US National Security Agency’s PRISM, contradicts the Constitution and the Tax Code. This violates the rights to privacy of correspondence and privacy. In addition, the concept does not meet the requirements of the World Intellectual Property Organization.

    According to Internet companies, copyright holders will also suffer. They will not be able to receive income from their intellectual property using alternative methods. As GeekTimes already wrote , the initiative did not find a response in the hearts of not only representatives of various associations, but even employees of the Ministry of Communications.

    The letter was signed by representatives of such companies as Yandex, Mail.ru Group, Rambler & Co, as well as the National Federation of the Music Industry, the Internet Video Association and the Internet Publishers Association.

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    The initiative to collect money from all Internet users in favor of the RSP

    • 1.8% will contribute to improving the situation of rights and copyright holders 27
    • 33.4% will finally kill the earning opportunity for creative people 479
    • 0.9% will allow creative people to earn 14
    • 89.1% will enrich one narrow group of people 1278
    • 39.7% worsen Internet piracy 569
    • 43.8% for me personally will not change anything except the increased monthly fee 629

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