I read a fairly interesting an in depth article currently on the Guardian’s website (link at the bottom) which reports that record labels are supposedly asking broadband providers in the UK to keep tabs on customers who are illegally downloading music, films, books, and etcetera.
The request comes after a year of fairly high rates of piracy. Between November 2012 and January 2013, the Guardian reports that 280 million music tracks, 52 million television shows, and 209 million films were pirated in the UK.
From reading the article, it sounds like the record labels and broadband providers are trying to set up a looser version of the six strike policy that is currently in the US. The broadband providers are supposedly going to send letters to their customers informing them that their IP address has been used to illegally download copyrighted material from the internet, and provides legal alternatives. After three letters, the article reports that the users may face some consequences, although it is ambiguous what those may be.
It will be interesting to see how the arrangement will affect piracy in the UK. Especially in light of the Data Protection Act 1998, which raises concerns in terms of the legality of this arrangement.
source:
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/01/record-labels-broadband-database-illegal-downloads
