That may be true but the new proposals do not require ISPs to pro-actively monitor their networks in such a manner, though they may need to if prevention becomes more of a priority.

What issues do ISPs have?

Naturally your customers are what keep you in business and they should be protected, albeit not if illegal activity is involved. Having received a notification that one of your users may be engaged in piracy, you must first confirm who that individual is and whether or not the supplied data is correct by matching it to internal records. This process raises a number of technical, cost and legal concerns.

Neil Armstrong, products and marketing director at UK ISP Plusnet, warns: “The technical and commercial implications of ISPs proactively tracking all downloads and blocking copyright material would be too much for any ISP to bear and would have an adverse effect of the industry as a whole. In addition to this, we have an obligation to our customers to protect their personal data, and we take this very seriously indeed.”

Under the governments Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), ISPs may very soon be required to log basic e-mail and website access data for one year (news article). However, ISPs are still held to the same laws as everybody else, which means that while a provider can supply data to the authorities, they themselves risk breaching data protection and privacy laws by snooping too far into a customer’s online activity.

Simon Davies, a Director for UK ISP IDNet offers a more detailed insight: “The Police do not impound the family car if it has been caught on camera speeding. They compel the registered keeper to disclose the identity of the offender and bring a prosecution. The BPI should stand up to the plate and fulfil their remit for the music industry rather than try to offload their responsibilities to ISPs. Besides, suspending the ISP account of a determined file-sharer will only encourage him/her to move their account to a new ISP.

If the Government were to decide that it is appropriate for ISPs to Police this activity then it follows that ISPs should also police illegal software file-sharing, and cases of defamation, slander, child pornography etc. There would have to be very careful rules and regulations given to ISPs to follow. The cost of this activity would push the monthly subscription rate back up to where it was a few years ago where only the wealthy could afford internet access. It would not be fair for a Single Issue Group such as the BPI to be granted special status where other valid law infringement monitoring bodies are not.

When an illegal activity has been identified then it should be for the Government to direct the relevant law enforcement body to investigate the allegation and prosecute as appropriate. As an ISP I can speak with authority when I say that I am certain that we would not be very good at all at law enforcement. Society needs Single Issue Groups who are experts in their field to identify offenders in the new medium. The role for the ISP is to help the monitors liaise with the enforcers.”