ISPs To Send Educational Alerts To Illegal Downloaders

What happened?

Plans for ISPs to send letters to customers who download content illegally have been watered down, according to the BBC. Under the 2010 Digital Economy Act, the Government asked ISPs to set up a system to identify persistent pirates and send them letters warning them to stop illegally downloading copyrighted material. Four years on, the interested parties are still discussing how the system will work. A deal has not yet been reached, but the most recent documents seen by the BBC suggest the letters will be "educational" rather than "accusatory". They will simply remind customers that piracy is illegal and warn them against it, rather than threatening them with fines or cutting off their internet access, as had previously been suggested. Under the new deal, a maximum of four letters will be sent, but the recipient can simply ignore them and carry on downloading copyrighted material, because no further action will be taken. The deal also ditches plans to set up a database of suspected pirates, which copyright holders could have used to take legal action. Neither the database nor the provisions to use the information to sue are included in the updated plans. Reports from industry insiders suggest the changes follow pressure from ISPs that don't want to accuse their own customers of breaking the law and be forced to hand over their data. If a deal is reached between the government. ISPs and copyright holders. the 'educational' letters will start being sent out in 2015. The system is expected to cost more than £3 million to set up, and around £300,000 to run annually. As much as 75 per cent of this cost will be paid by rights holders, such as film and music companies.

How will it affect you?
If you've been downloading copyrighted material illegally, or someone that uses your computer has, you may receive a letter next year, but that's about the extent of the penalties customers will face. Your data won't be gathered and handed to music labels' lawyers, and your internet connection won't be turned off by your broadband provider. Of course, that doesn't mean pirates are safe to do as they please in the UK. Copyright holders can still take their own action against illegal downloaders, and courts can compel ISPs to hand over data if there's enough evidence of piracy. Additionally, professional pirate hunters are approaching UK waters: Rightscorp (www.rightscorp.com) has worked with ISPs and rights holders in the US to obtain cash settlements from accused pirates, and has recently come to the UK to see if the same could work here.

What do we think?
It seems like a toothless, pointless system and it's hard to see exactly who these letters are meant to target. Persistent pirates are already well aware that they're breaking the law when they download the latest episode of Game of Thrones, and they really don't need their ISP to tell them. The only people this plan could help are those who share a connection. For example, if your child is downloading illegally and you get a letter, it could help open up a conversation with your youngster about what's acceptable. However, if your child is already doing as they please online, there's a more important discussion about safety and avoiding inappropriate content that should probably take precedence. With so many excellent legal alternatives to piracy, such as the streaming services Netflix and Spotify, there's really no excuse to continue downloading copyrighted content illegally, and we certainly don't approve of copyright infringement. However, rather than shell out £3 million on a system to send ineffective letters, music and film organisations would do better to invest in improved digital distribution systems. The best defence against piracy is to make films and music as easy to get legally as they are to pirate, and for a reasonable price.