The UK Film Council, a government-backed lead agency for film, has called for persistent illegal broadband file sharers (P2P) to be forcibly removed (cut-off) from their ISPs. The group claims that over 50% of UK Internet traffic comes from illegal content, though it's not known how they arrived at that figure.

Last year saw six of the UK's largest ISPs agree to a new 'Memorandum of Understanding' (MoU) with the creative industry (news), which set out a principal of sending warning letters to those accused of downloading illegal music or movies etc. It was hoped that this would be followed by a voluntary solution for tackling repeat offenders, although to date no such agreement has surfaced.

The government’s target of reducing illegal file-sharing by 70 to 80% within two years is now at risk, while ISPs continue to argue that they are merely "conduits" of data and not "gatekeepers". Meanwhile the council predicts a "lawless free-for-all" unless the government acts to protect their content:


Many people view Internet access is as being just as important to them as their electricity supply. Removing such a vital connection based purely on a suspicion of wrong-doing, which could easily be incorrect, seems unjust (presumed guilt without trial).

Media firms typically track suspected illegal P2P activity to IP addresses, which are assigned to every computer when you go online, yet IP's can easily be spoofed, redirected, shared over big networks or even hijacked (open Wi-Fi network etc.). The transfer itself could also be encrypted, making it nearly impossible for the ISP to verify.

The only true way to tell if somebody has done something illegal is to analyse their computers hard disk drive, otherwise you could just as easily end up targeting innocent users, which has already happened on a number of occasions.

The UK Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) once said: "ISPs are no more able to inspect and filter every single packet passing across their network than the Post Office is able to open every envelope." ISPs cannot detect illegal traffic, unless they know exactly what traffic is illegal - a catch 22.

Never the less, warnings alone are clearly not enough to satisfy the creative industry and some sort of solution does need to be found. Alternative ideas, such as legalising illegal file-sharing by charging a tax on all connections, have been proposed (yesterdays news) but also come with drawbacks.

Restricting or limiting access to P2P specific services might be one way forward. In an ISPreview survey earlier this year over 20% showed some approval for restricting P2P access, while nearly 15% preferred the idea of restricting service speed. This would of course only be applied to those whom have received several warnings beforehand.

Ultimately ISPs aren't a police force and do not own content on the Internet (user websites notwithstanding etc.), though they do control access to it, albeit not in the same defined way as a cinema controls access to its screens. Ironically this argument may not stand up if some ISPs choose to oppose net neutrality and start showing favouritism to specific online services. They would then become the gatekeepers.

UPDATE @ 1:07pm :

The ISPA informs us that an alliance of creative industries including the BPI, FACT and the National Union of Journalists is also making a similar statement today. This will call for urgent action against illegal downloaders.

The statement will be made at a London conference, The Future of the Creative Economy. The ISPA has issued the following statement in response to both new calls.