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ISOC Expresses Concern on Proposed Web Caching Ban
COPYRIGHT AND CACHING INFORMATION AND NEWS
STATEMENT BY ENRED ON WEB CACHING
Washington, D.C. - 1 March 1999 -- The Internet Society expresses concern regarding the reported European Parliament proposed copyright directive that would ban caching of web content by Internet Service Providers serving customers in Europe.
The major residual Internet service cost today is the phenomenal amount of repeated transmission of the same information. Up to one third of content in the Internet today is a precise copy of content sent within the preceding few minutes. Caching allows this content to be stored in a local cache server which then fulfills additional requests for the same information. This reduces absolute transmission capacity requirements. Automated content caching offers significant potential in driving Internet service costs down, and in so doing makes the Internet more efficient and affordable to a far larger user population.
The Internet Society urges the European Parliament to reconsider its proposal to outlaw caching. Otherwise, inefficiencies would be introduced into the Internet, resulting in increased costs to consumers. "The Internet does not need laws that slow its performance, clog its arteries, and reduce value received," said Don Heath, president and CEO of the Internet Society.
The Internet Society recognizes that the world of electronic publication offers challenges to owners of artistic and intellectual property. We advocate addressing copyright concerns in a manner that does not impose barriers to the electronic trade of ideas, information, content and entertainment, rather than attempting to impose artificial and regressive restrictions which do not, in fact, address the core problem in intellectual property protection in the first place.
Banning all caching would go far beyond merely solving a copyright problem. The basic Internet HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP) has a well-defined method by which a content owner can specify restrictions on web caches. Where no restriction is specified, caching should be allowed. The area of copyright protection in an electronic world is a subject of vigorous study today and we are confident additional non-destructive solutions can be found.
There is a great opportunity for Europe to be a major player in a radically different global information economy. To attempt to ban the use of the very technologies that underpin this dramatic change is most damaging for all Europeans. We understand that the European Commission is interested in taking steps to protect the status of caching. We strongly support all such efforts, and urge the European Internet community and European legislatures to recognize and embrace the opportunities created by the wave of Internet-inspired technologies.
Contact:
Don Heath, heath@isoc.org
Martin Burack, burack@isoc.org
Internet Society
703/648-9888
