Virgin warns illicit downloaders

Teenagers building vast libraries of illegally downloaded music risk having their habit exposed to their parents under new plans announced today by Virgin Media.

From next week, Virgin Media, one the UK's largest providers of broadband, in conjunction with the BPI (the British Phonographic Industry) will send out warning letters to customers whose accounts are being used to download or share music illegally.

Both letters will be distributed by Virgin Media so that customers names and addresses will not be disclosed to the BPI.

According to the BPI, over six and a half million broadband accounts are used to access music without permission using peer-to-peer (P2P) websites. Virgin Media aims to target these accounts by sending out thousands of letters over a 10-week trial.

Virgin Media has stopped short of threatening disconnection to persistent illegal downloaders, instead opting to educate parents about illegal downloading, for the time being.

For many recipients of the letters it could come as a surprise to discover that their children have been storing and sharing a collection of illegally downloaded files.

Both Virgin Media and the BPI say that the aim of the campaign is educational and informative, by providing practical advice on how to prevent misuse as well as links to websites where music can be downloaded legally.

Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI said: "Education is absolutely key to reducing the extent of illegal downloading... this joint campaign with Virgin Media is the first step towards achieving that goal."

The campaign has also got the blessing of business minister Shriti Vadera. She said: "This is a very welcome first step by Virgin and the BPI to educate consumers about unlawful file sharing, which damages our vibrant creative economy."

This is not the first time an ISP has teamed up with the BPI to campaign against illegal downloading; Tiscali and the BPI joined forces in the past to track down and bring illegal downloaders to court. However, the partnership fizzled out over costs.

What do you think of the latest campaign to stop illegal downloading? Will it work or is it a waste of time? Have your say in the Web User forums.

www.virginmedia.com
www.bpi.co.uk