|
rather than moan, if your in the uk write to your mp.
I did.
------------------------------
Dear Sir/Madam,
RE: ATVOD
I am writing to you regarding ATVOD (Authority for Television On Demand).
In the last year or so UK based (adult and I believe non adult) websites (that have films) have been subjected to a bizarre tax from ATVOD.
Basically if a site is in the UK and contains films the owner now needs to pay a HUGE fee and comply by many rules.
The rules (as I believe them to be) state that this only applies to:
• Sites in the UK. But this is the owner uploads content from the UK. Thus if the owner moves outside the UK (or claims to) he/she does not pay a fee or have to comply by the rules.
• Only certain sites. Sites that are ‘user generated’ are exempt. Thus if the sites lets people upload there own films then the sites is exempt.
The ATVOD rules also mean that the member’s area must not take certain types of cards. This means that the main (all in fact) payment processors are no longer viable. In other words ATVOD are stopping sites from using payment processing.
Many UK sites are simply changing there ‘whois’ (contact info) details so ATVOD cannot contact them, and thus ATVOD have no idea if the sites are UK based or not.
The result is many UK sites are simply closing as they are unable to operate, or moving outside the UK.
Thus a site that makes a small income for a model has to close. But a large sites that makes millions but has content provided by the public, is exempt.
This also means that if your outside the UK you can operated with no problems, but those in the UK are shut down.
One must question what the point of the ATVOD is? While it’s a tax, its rather pointless as the result is that MANY UK sites are now closing and thus as sites close that’s less tax. Also I know a lot of models now closing there sites and going on the dole. So ATVOD will mean less tax paid. ATVOD has no benefits to anyone.
Porn sites shoot models aged 18 or older. They have full ID of the models. By shutting down the sites the net will simply be full of ‘free’ porn. We will see more porn tube sites open (thus children will see it, while at the moment its in protected members areas). No one will know how old the models are (as it will simply be uploaded all over). No one can contact those in the films (at the moment you can if you can contact the pay site).
To sum up, ATVOD will simply shut down UK websites (both adult and non adult), but non UK sites will do better. It will mean more people on the dole. It will mean that less tax will be raised.
One can only conclude that those who support ATVOD wish to put people on the dole and shut UK businesses down. It seems rather odd.
I write this to point out that ATVOD needs to be scraped. Many people simply cannot afford to pay the license fee. But why should they pay even £1 when its not giving them any benefits and those outside the UK pay nothing.
I have a female friend who set up a website. She has now had to close it and is now on the dole. She was looking at earning £30k (estimated) a year, and was going to employ staff to help run the site. But instead is on the dole and cannot understand why the government is doing its best to keep her and her friends on the dole.
On the other hand I see on webmaster forums that site owners in the USA are celebrating ATVOD as they have seen there membership increase and making even more money.
|