Tel Aviv Resolution

IAWG Calls on ISPs to Support the Creation of New Content with Compensation to Creators

January 18, 2016

Screenwriters around the world are significant drivers of the internet economy. Consumers pay substantial fees to Internet Service Providers not just to connect to the internet but also to access our work. In many countries, the cost to consumers continues to rise with the demand for more data and greater bandwidth necessary to view the film, television and digital content screenwriters create.

ISPs are often owned by the same conglomerates that control our cable companies and mobile service providers. While they continue to grow richer and more powerful from Screenwriters’ creations, our revenues are declining and the budgets needed to create new programming are shrinking.

The International Affiliation of Writers Guilds believes that it is time for this wealth to be distributed fairly: to compensate screenwriters, creators and copyright holders, to support the creation and production of original content and to develop technologies that enhance the ways in which our audiences consume the film, television and digital content we create.

We call upon Internet Service Providers to compensate the creators of the works they distribute, to support the many cultures that the internet connects and to contribute to the creation of new content.

We call upon governments around the world to enact legislation to ensure that ISPs fairly compensate creators and copyright holders and that they contribute to the funding of productions that offer independent perspectives through public and private media, reflect local cultures and tell national stories. 

We invite people everywhere to continue to enjoy our works on every screen and platform and to demand that ISPs share your subscription fees with the creators of the works you love.

Moved by Jill Golick
President, Writers Guild of Canada