Virgin Media Will be the First UK ISP to Disconnect Illegal File-Sharers

Trial run of controversial three strikes-and-your-out policy reportedly to begin in a few months.

There's a disturbing report out today that Virgin Media, the UK's largest residential broadband subscriber, is gearing up to begin disconnecting illegal file-sharers as part of the new three strikes-and-you-out policy that the BPI, the British Phonographic Industry, has long been lobbying for.

The move by Virgin Media is surely in response to demands by the UK govt. that ISPs voluntarily begin disconnecting repeated illegal file-sharers by April 9th of this year or face legislation to force them to do so. It is asking that ISPs comply as part of its strategy to become the world's "creative hub."

The BPI is reportedly working closely with Virgin Media to conduct the pilot program "within a few months."

"We have been in discussions with rights holders organizations about how a voluntary scheme could work.," said a spokesman for Virgin Media. "We are taking this problem seriously and would favour a sensible voluntary solution."

Virgin Media will apparently enlist the help of BPI investigators who will trace illegal music downloading to individual IP addresses. It will then hand them over to Virgin Media, who will then match them to specific names and addresses for warning and perhaps even eventual disconnection.

"This is not the time for ISPs to delay further," said BPI chief executive, Geoff Taylor. "Government clearly shares the creative community's frustration at the failure of ISPs to take action."

Too bad UK citizens don't share the same sense of urgency or desire to have the data they share with others inspected by corporate censors. Also too bad is the fact that the UK govt, usually a champion of individual liberties, is so eager to begin allowing CORPORATE INTERESTS be the gatekeepers of data on the internet. Nothing could be scarier than that in my opinion.

I mean ISP content filters are little more than data checkpoints. Would UK citizens allow for physical checkpoints whereby corporations are allowed to search their person for copyrighted material? I think not. When people there wake up and realize that corporate interests are being allowed to play data gatekeepers then hopefully they will stand up and demand change.

Say what you want about the United States, but it'll be a cold day in hell before we see any sort of filtering of the internet by ISPs or corporations. Throttling perhaps, but censorship? Never. I mean I thought Europe was supposed to be the "enlightened continent," yet with its French and UK backbones eagerly lining up to protect entertainment industry profits it really makes you wonder who the enlightened one really is in this world.