UK file-sharers will be 'cut off'

[xxMATTGxx]

The UK government is to announce that people who consistently download films and music illegally will be cut off from the net.

The announcement will come in the form of an amendment to the Digital Britain report, launched in June.

It is believed that Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has intervened personally to beef up the report.

The amendment will make it easier for internet service providers to act against pirates.

ISPs have said it is not their job to police the web.

It is likely there will be widespread anger from ISPs over the u-turn.

Much of the Digital Britain report is dedicated to ways to get people online and many felt that a policy of cutting off persistent downloaders would go against this ethos.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8219652.stm

What you all think of this then? :P

[BoyBetterKnow]

I have downloaded like 10 movies max. I havn't downloaded any for about 3 months so this doesn't really apply to me. I pay for alot of my music tbh.

But surely watching movies online is as bad as downloading them ?

[Recursion]

I have downloaded like 10 movies max. I havn't downloaded any for about 3 months so this doesn't really apply to me. I pay for alot of my music tbh.

But surely watching movies online is as bad as downloading them ?

If you mean on streaming websites, then yes, you're effectively downloading them and watching them at the same time.


Doesn't really apply to me at all, I buy music off Amazon MP3 or iTunes depending on who's cheapest and most DRM-free on the song LOL, movies I get of off iTunes as rentals or full purchases, software like MS Office I just use my student discounts.

[Chippiewill]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8219652.stm

What you all think of this then? :P
Just start routing your torrent traffic through sweden or through Tor..... may be a bit slow but it'll do...

But it wont matter anyway, ISPs just wont bother.

[Flisker]

As the article said, the ISP's don't want to be the web police as under law they are mere conduits of the traffic on the net. As long as the ISP's say no to it then the longer it will take to come into action.

[xxMATTGxx]

If you mean on streaming websites, then yes, you're effectively downloading them and watching them at the same time.


Doesn't really apply to me at all, I buy music off Amazon MP3 or iTunes depending on who's cheapest and most DRM-free on the song LOL, movies I get of off iTunes as rentals or full purchases, software like MS Office I just use my student discounts.

You have changed over the months :P.

[Recursion]

By the way, this hasn't actually happened yet, a target was set to do this by 2012, but they are saying it needs to be done sooner, nothing has been finalized yet.

[Tomm]

I find it funny how they use the word "File-sharers" when there clearly are a large number of different ways to download pirated content other than using Bittorent or other p2p applications.

Anyway, i'm happy with my encrypted usenet service. So unless they manage to start decrypting SSL traffic sometime soon then ill be fine ;)

[GommeInc]

Good luck to them :P ISPs won't like the idea of interfering with their customers, it will cost them alot of time and money to monitor all activity :P

Is this just another dig of becoming anti-human rights? File sharing isn't that big a deal, if film companies, music companies and game companies made their products reasonable for the amount you pay, then there wouldn't be such a mess. The music industry is one of the biggest culrits - selling music which is waaay over-priced when listening to one album gets tiresome quicker than that of a game or film. 79p (average price I think) is considered a waste of money, halving it would be more decent - not like the artists get much of it anyway :/

[Ardemax]

Don't download that much illegally.

But I know people that live of such sites - lol.
I'm sure one of my mates has never actually been to a cinema - ykno - with friends. He just downloads them.

[The Professor]

Lol I love how when this story comes out everyone starts proclaiming that they're little angels and they never pirate. Do you think the ISPs are reading or something? :P

AOL have the right idea. I pirate all the time but have never received so much as an "oi" from them, they just limit the amount I can pirate by having a balls download speed as standard :P

[Stephen!]

Does anybody know if they can detect what I'm downloading through rapidshare?

[Tomm]

If the archive is not encrypted then it will be fairly easy.


Does anybody know if they can detect what I'm downloading through rapidshare?

[Stephen!]

Hmm. Maybe it's time to get a Usenet subscription.

[efq]

I probably downloaded around 5gb a day. My Demonoid data downloaded is about 985gb. I download movies, games, applications all the time. I burn DVDs for my personal use. I've been told four billion times that they will cut us off. BT told me they don't encourage it but they won't come chasing you because it's not worth the time, court, papers.

[BoyBetterKnow]

If you mean on streaming websites, then yes, you're effectively downloading them and watching them at the same time.


I thought so. That's why I now download them.

[Nli.]

Obviously ISP's don't want to police their users as if they cut them off they will loose customers, in turn loosing money. As many people these days use Torrents and so on. I know a few people who have got cut off for downloading illegally, now they use 'Virgin' illegally and they think this makes them less likely to get cut off.

But this doesn't effect me much as I don't download much.

[efq]

The people ISPs and the law are trying to target are people PROFITING of illegal downloading. So burning DVDs/Games and selling off.

[Firehorse]

Personally I think that yet again one or two unlucky people will fall victim to this and then it will stop. ISPs know that there is a very large amount of people who download these files illegally, however at the same time this is where their money is coming from so cutting them off would mean stemming your own income. Obviously why it states they are not pleased.

[Jordy]

I probably downloaded around 5gb a day. My Demonoid data downloaded is about 985gb. I download movies, games, applications all the time. I burn DVDs for my personal use. I've been told four billion times that they will cut us off. BT told me they don't encourage it but they won't come chasing you because it's not worth the time, court, papers.I doubt that you're allowed to download around 150GB a month with BT. Most ISPs consider 'fair usage' at around 70GBs?

[Recursion]

BT Option 3 is very unclear about their "Unlimited" download FUP, some people say its 70GB, some say 100GB, some say 150GB while others say it depends where you live, BT won't confirm it :/

@ Alex, I have iTunes purchase receipts to prove it :P

[efq]

I doubt that you're allowed to download around 150GB a month with BT. Most ISPs consider 'fair usage' at around 70GBs?
Not exactly 5gb a day every day but some days I will download 10gb+ torrents over night, GTA:IV was one.

[Jxhn]

Does this apply to people that just download from rapidshare or just uploaders? Also can't you just download passworded .rars or ones saved as random names, then it'd take way to much effort to investigate just for some guy downloadidng a few movies.

[Firehorse]

I doubt that you're allowed to download around 150GB a month with BT. Most ISPs consider 'fair usage' at around 70GBs?

Well virgin media's adsl service considers 5gb a week in peak times fair usage :@, and I am always gaming online and downloading things.

They put you down to 80kbps for a whole week if you go even 10mb over, and you have no way of knowing if you have.

[Flisker]

o2/Be*'s fair usage policy is so high that they have NEVER used it on anyone and I download quite a bit.