Copyright lobby holds private meetings with UK government about Web censorship

"A group of UK copyright lobbyists held confidential, closed-door meetings with Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries to discuss a plan to allow industry groups to censor the Internet in the UK."

Probably worth mentioning "UK" in the title.

Why in any country is listening to lobbyists not a "death penalty" for any politician that kills reelections?

I guess the problem is since all the candidates do it, they cannot run against the other advertising that the other does it.

Even Obama who promised to remove their influenced has actually increased their influence and they now meet across from the whitehouse so they stay off the recorded visits.

This will only work if there are penalties levied on ISPs for not blocking. As anyone using Tor will be able to circumvent such a block the ISPs will always be liable thus destroying them and net access in the UK.

These type of closed door meetings are all too common... I wonder how many private meetings like these happen without any disclosure or reporting about them at all???

still no need for caps in the headline

Ed Vaizey is also against net neutrality. It's like the Con-Dem coalition brought in their very own Mandy.

(Edit: This is odd, because Vaizey is usually one of the more moderate, liberally-inclined Tories, and has stated in Parliament that he supports an open Internet and recognises the lack of regulation thus far as part of the reason for its success. It's hard to figure out exactly where he stands on these issues: either he's saying one thing but actually thinks another, or he genuinely does believe in the openness principle but doesn't think regulation or statute is the way to enforce it and hasn't been clear enough about what he means. Certainly some of his public statements on the subject appear to be contradictory, or at least ill at ease with one another.)

Time to get your amateur radio license folks and embrace AX25!

Totally not shocked. BPI and pals are awful.