ODPC orders ISP to drop ‘three strikes’ rule

Discussions have always been heated when it came to implementing measures to cut down online piracy. It would prove difficult to automate the entire system, as there will always be the oddball that could probably fly under the radar of any filters that have been set up. One thing that gives a lot of music labels, software and application developers, and other entities who have intellectual property that could be infringed upon is file-sharing applications and websites.

These programmes and sites make it easy for users to download copyrighted media, software, and other content. In an effort to discourage people from using file-sharing programmes for these purposes, Ofcom had announced that they were going to be introducing a three-strikes policy in 2013. The policy will include sending off notification letters to the file sharers, which will be implemented in summer of next year.

Ofcom explained their three-strike policy as follows: “We set out a three-stage notification process for informing subscribers of infringements through notifications and propose that subscribers, following receipt of a third notification, may be included in a copyright infringement list requested by a Copyright Owner. In short: if you get caught three times, your information, including IP address, the number of times an infringement has been logged and your name, will be shipped over to the companies you are stealing the music from.”

But the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner in Ireland (ODPC) is doing things differently. It has reportedly ordered the country’s largest Internet service provider, Eircom, to stop sing its ‘three strikes’ system for identifying users who are allegedly file sharers.

The Irish data protection watchdog was concerned that the ISP’s system of using IP addresses to weed out these copyright infringers invades the privacy of their customers. In a statement, the ODPC said: “I can confirm we have concluded our investigation on this matter and have communicated the outcome to Eircom. It has 21 days to respond. Our investigation was commenced on foot of a complaint from an individual who alleged they had received a warning letter about access to copyrighted material in error.”

Eircom had implemented a three-strikes policy where users will possibly have their connections cut off if they persist with their file-sharing activities. The system was put into place in agreement with four major music record companies. It had also been approved previously by the Irish government.

Source – The Register