Illegal Downloads – Three Strikes And Your Out!
Its seems as though ISP Virgin Media has found an innovative way to reduce the number of times their customers illegally download music through their Internet Service. While yet to be officially confirmed it seems as though Richard Branson’s internet leader will introduce a system whereby if you are found downloading music illegally you will receive a series of warnings after which you will be banned from the Virgin Media internet service for life. But why is Virgin Media choosing this system now?
Over the last few years the hot topic has been the illegal downloading of music via the internet and the massive loss of royalties which the industry is suffering. We have seen retail outlets around the world raided by the police, we have seen internet sites closed down but still the problem persists. As so often seems to be the case nowadays we are seeing those with a grievance return to the ISP’s, threatening them with court action and massive fines if they do not abide by their rules.
We saw a similar strategy by the US authorities with regards to Poker, whereby they hit the payment companies and told them to stop dealing in money which was going to or coming from a Poker related site. The US move on Poker actually killed the online Poker industry in the country literally overnight. It seems that the music companies are now pursuing a similar path with the UK government backing their every move.
However, at first glance there does seem to be the potential for some teething problems with the system unless all UK ISP’s actually agree to abide by the guidelines. Those who receive a three strikes and your out hit from Virgin Media will surely just move onto another ISP and continue their downloading activities there?
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