Posted: 17th Apr, 2008 By: MarkJ
The Federation Against Software Theft (F.A.S.T) has called on UK ISP's to agree a voluntary code of conduct and self governance before the government acts to force unwanted legislation upon the industry.
The wider music and creative industry has been involved in a head on collision with ISPs of late. Many such organisations have called providers irresponsible for failing to act over online piracy. John Lovelock, Chief Executive of The Federation Against Software Theft, stated:
There is already one ISP breaking ranks claiming that it is not their responsibility. But the fact remains if people are illegally file-sharing they are in fact in breach of their terms and conditions and the associated ISP must act,
In an ideal world there would be no place for legislation but unless the ISPs get their house in order then the Government will act and adopt a stance already in operation in France, he added.
There is no doubt that there would be expensive implications for everyone if we ended up monitoring Internet traffic within the existing data protection environment. It would be expensive, time consuming and deeply unpopular. What we have been advocating for some time now is a voluntary code of conduct and self governance, he concluded.
Some ISPs, such as The Carphone Warehouse, have already criticised the idea as unworkable, while others fear higher costs, legal woes over privacy, technical difficulties and a customer backlash. Despite that, many do recognise that some form of voluntary code will ultimately be required, yet so far there has been no firm agreement. For more details check out our '
To Ban or Not to Ban (Illegal File Sharers)' article.