AfterDawn: News

British ISPs urged to deny access to file sharers

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has given an official letter to both Tiscali and Cable & Wireless requesting that they suspend some 59 accounts for "illegal filesharing".

The BPI was once focused on handling individual file sharers, but now seems to have switched its strategy to individual firms allowing these practices to take place. The BPI is claiming that this move will make it easier for them to stop the copyright infringements suffered at the hands of the Internet.



BPI has indentified 17 IP addresses which belong to Tiscali and 42 IP addresses under Cable & Wireless control which were used to upload "significant quantities of music owned by BPI members".

BPI chairman Peter Jamieson said "It was unacceptable for ISPs to turn a blind eye to industrial-scale copyright infringement. We are providing unequivocal evidence of copyright infringement via their services. It is now up to them to put their house in order and pull the plug on these people.".

Tiscali has responded stating that it does not normally freeze accounts automatically, but will entertain an investigation. Cable & Wireless merely stated, "This would normally mean that any accounts used for illegal filesharing are closed. We will take whatever steps are necessary to put the matter right".

Source:
BBC News

Written by: Dave Horvath @ 10 Jul 2006 10:41

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• 23 comments

• hot_ice

  Do it to 3 people, and say at the end "Mission Accomplished!" with a wonderfully decorative banner...gimme a break.

  10.7.2006 10:46 #1

• hursty

  mo fo's

  10.7.2006 11:11 #2

• Pop_Smith

  I wonder what they consider "significant quanities"? One CD/DVD? A couple gigs? One Song? I really am curious as to how much you have to upload before they go after you.

  10.7.2006 13:30 #3

• hot_ice

  If anything, everything seems to be ambiguous with them...There are worse crimes out there, than a person downloading a madonna song...just to see how the album is before considering purchasing it..

  10.7.2006 17:58 #4

• domie

  " Cable & Wireless merely stated, "This would normally mean that any accounts used for illegal filesharing are closed. We will take whatever steps are necessary to put the matter right "
  
  Oh yeah right and watch your client data base reduce by about 98 % overnight if you do this.
  
  I do not believe that ISPs are unaware of the fact that 98 % of their customers use broadband to download illegal files, who apart from businesses and corporations is going to want a 4mb, 6 mb or 10 mb connection to surf the net ? not many i suspect

  11.7.2006 00:45 #5

• vegeta66

  not true i have 3mbs i use alot of it for gaming, my ps2 alone uses about 756kbs or so
  
  i generally will stream music, videos, while i play a game
  
  of course their aware they just wont do anything about because they'll lose a ton of customers

  11.7.2006 07:49 #6

• ofolion

  I really hope the ISPs have the balls to tell the BPI that they do not control them and they will not be doing anything they "kindly" ask of them.
  
  I dare say that may ISPs would be intimidated by the BPI and so as they say, but many ISPs ,i hope, simple politely tell them to get lost as they will not disconnect people on the BPIs say so.

  11.7.2006 08:38 #7

• ZippyDSM

  Frist off theres a law soemwhere about spying on your costmers if theres not thats not good,2ndly I bet the ISPs would be happy to drop people if the Music/film indurty would pay the diffrance otherwise it simpley is not going to happen *L*
  
  Of corse they can always sue and frezze smaller ISP operations but are there any smaller ISPs with all the coperate greed going on ost have been bought out 0-o
  

  11.7.2006 08:59 #8

• Sundiver

  Well the BPI is in for a tough time if they want to get anywhere with C&W aka Bulldog, the're so disorganised that they can't even terminate their customers accounts when the customers request it, let alone the BPI! And anyway, C&W are trying to sell-off the Bulldog retail ISP side of the business so I should think that any BPI requests are going to be at the bottom of the To-Do list!

  11.7.2006 14:29 #9

• dragon447

  hot to identify illegal fileshare?
  if all the people who share the file will be consider as pluged one?
  

  12.7.2006 01:00 #10

• ripfuel

  The BPI is crazy as hell, they are nothing more than illegal spy's & leechers themselves. Taking big $$ kickbacks from the Big dogs & then try to destroy a few little people for sharing, pure a$$holes!

  12.7.2006 08:16 #11

• s3a

  In a way the BPI is right, just because we don't do any illegal activity with P2P stuff etc...doesnt mean others don't, if they are going to make a "ban" and (this is kinda off-topic) if they are going as far as bringing ppl in jail, they should let ppl explain themselves first...

  12.7.2006 08:26 #12

• Wild9

  British stores have a history of restricting goods, resulting in the same price on album irrespective of where it was purchased it. The same for other entertainment media such as DVD's and computer games.
  
  Where was the BPI then? Nowhere, it seems.
  
  If there is demand there is always supply; stop one form of file-sharing and people will always find another. When British stores are charging up to twice as much for CD's as their American outlets, to people who can barely afford to even eat, then those people will make a choice. I am not condoning what they are doing, just stating what happens when markets are restricted and prices artifically inflated.

  14.7.2006 06:05 #13

• samhain1

  i dont know if its just me being thick im still new to file sharing but i still cant work out how it can be ilegal.i know copyright exists on films music ect but its only the same as buying a pirate dvd at a car boot sale and then borrowing it to your friends no money changes hands to share files.maybe if the big companys charged less for films music ect people would not do it but i know profit is king to these people so itsunlikey to happen

  15.7.2006 00:47 #14

• axmad

  guys
  i live in the UK.so basically if i download a game/song/movies from a p2p prgramme, i will be detected and sent to jail?? is p2p illegal?? can't i just share a game/movies someone else has?? so many answered question. can my ISP know what am downloading??

  15.7.2006 14:54 #15

• ZippyDSM

  axmad
  the UK only has simple privcy laws sicne soem US companys have to go to the UK to spy on US downlaoders and such......I wonder how safe it is to be a downloading or even a leecher in the UK 0-o

  15.7.2006 17:24 #16

• axmad

  sorry mate.
  i don't get what you are saying. can you please kindly re word it.

  16.7.2006 03:55 #17

• quint

  I get totally pissed off that all file sharers are
  theives out to make a fortune. Most the stuff I download has already been on tv which I can legally record. But sometimes if u miss an episode of something and they don't show it again (this does happen)or it is so obscure and u can't buy it legally e.g some old b&w films does this mean my isp should sanction me or be disqualified from file sharing! Even with music I have already have bought the vinyl years ago. So the the artist is not losing out ,it just saves me the hassle of recording to my hdd. Also these people who complain about piracy are hippocrates e.g
  is Bill Gates et al seriously suggesting that they never ever borrowed a mates Beatles LP or some other artists music and recorded it on to cassette tape. Show me a man/woman who has never theived or copied something and i'll show u a lier. Remember Bill Gates et al "Do not point out the spelck in your brother's eye while u fail to see the log sticking out of your own"

  16.7.2006 05:13 #18

• ZippyDSM

  axmad
  
  in the US is harder for companys to spy on you,thats why some film and record companies go to the UK in order to spy and hack into P2Ps to track people.
  With that siad I wonder how safe it is to be a shareer or leecher in the UK 0-o
  
  anyone want to psot the UK laws regarding downlaoding and coperate spying on you?

  16.7.2006 12:42 #19

• axmad

  i dont know for sure but i just feel like am spied on by my isp. i don't know how to d/l movies no more. i don't even know what illegal and wat's not no more they've driven me crazy!! i friend of mine downloaded a game without my knowing. is that serious??
  

  

  16.7.2006 14:05 #20

• PHILISAN

  I would suggest that ALL music downloads could be made legal and totally free,by utillising commercial advertising to cover the royalty fees due to the artists, on regulated D/L sites.

  17.6.2007 22:16 #21

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by PHILISAN:I would suggest that ALL music downloads could be made legal and totally free,by utillising commercial advertising to cover the royalty fees due to the artists, on regulated D/L sites.they could that for all downloading and blank media and some tech but the trouble is it comes a time when the system has to change to meet the demands of the day the media mafiaa wants their cocaine cakes and eat them too, meaning enough is never enough with them.

  18.6.2007 05:38 #22

• emugamer

  Quote:Tiscali has responded stating that it does not normally freeze accounts automatically, but will entertain an investigation. Sounds like Tiscali and Cable and Wireless find this amusing. Do they plan to "entertain an investigation", or do they find the investigation entertaining ;-)

  18.6.2007 08:21 #23