Gennaro Castaldo Watch: Hanging is too good for them

It's understandable that Gennaro Castaldo might be grasping at any straws right now, but even bearing that in mind, his rant calling for people to be thrown off the internet is surprising:

Gennaro Castaldo, HMV's spokesman for the UK and Ireland, believes government legislation must be in place to compel internet service providers to adopt the so-called 'three-strikes-and-you're-out' policy in order to deter would-be bootleggers.

"It's ironic that the very people who often engage in piracy are those who love the creative industries, be it film or music," he says. "They wouldn't dream about going into a shop and stealing a DVD, but they just don't realise that by downloading a film or TV show illegally they are doing exactly the same thing.

"It's all well and good to educate people about the damage their actions are doing, but maybe the only way to tackle it is to really crack down on illegal downloaders. The problem is people feel they can continue to download because they won't be sanctioned."

Nobody would dream of stealing a DVD from HMV, it's true, as that would mean you'd have to go into a branch of HMV in the first place.

Gennaro: it won't work, it's too expensive and too restrictive. What you're asking for is for the government to make laws compelling the communications industry to try and make up for the entertainment industry's failings. You might as well campaign to insist that newsagents be forced to give you ten pence every time someone whistles while buying tobacco.