It called on ISPs to make sure they thrashed out a workable voluntary system for dealing with online piracy before the government was forced to intervene.

"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," John Lovelock, chief executive of FAST said.

Some ISPs such as Virgin Media are already in detailed discussions with the music industry as to how such a system could work.

FAST singled The Carphone Warehouse out for criticism after Charles Dunstone, the chief executive, said that proposals from the music industry were unworkable and that it wouldn't be implementing them.

The British Phonographic Industry, which proposed the "three-strike" rule that Dunstone objected to, countered by threatening legal action against the company if it did not make an effort to curb piracy.

However, FAST and the BPI's wishes to implement a system that would see persistent downloaders cut off were dealt a serious blow by the European Parliament recently when it ruled that cutting off customers was a 'breach of human rights'.

www.fast.org.uk
www.bpi.co.uk
www.virginmedia.com
www.talktalk.co.uk

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