Audio Video News

The fight against illegal music downloading is taking some strange turns in Great Britain. Internet service providers have agreed to send letters accusing customers of stealing music. And the government has set a goal of reducing illegal file sharing by up to 80 percent within three years.

The British government and the British Phonographic Institute (BPI), an equivalent of the Recording Industry Association of America, cut a deal with six major ISPs who have agreed to mail out hundreds of thousands of accusatory letters to their subscribers. Said a BPI spokesperson: "We have looked to ISPs to acknowledge their responsibility to help deal with illegal filesharing, engage in communicating the issue to their customers, and put in place procedures necessary to effectively tackle repeated unlawful filesharing." The ISPs involved are BT, Virgin, Carphone Warehouse, Orange, Tiscali and BSkyB.

Her Majesty's government has set some goals. It plans to reduce file sharing of music and movies by 80 percent by 2011. Business Minster Baroness Vadera referenced the ISP agreement: "Although this letter has no effect on the agreement, which stands in its own terms, this may help to ensure all signatories have the same expectations.... I would regard a reduction as 'significant' if it had reduced the number of people filesharing unlawfully in the UK by well over 50%, and we hope in the region of 70%-80% from a baseline to be agreed, with work to start immediately, rather than waiting for legislation.... Success will significantly depend on the effectiveness of the letter writing, awareness raising and other measures."

Guardian columnist Cory Doctorow calls the ISP deal "the latest paragraph in the record industry's long, self-pitying suicide note," noting: "Under the new scheme, the rule of law is replaced by a cosy inter-industry deal. Whereas before, anyone who wanted your ISP to spy on your internet connection would have had to show evidence to a judge and get a court order, now any joker who claims to be an aggrieved copyright holder can do so."