Some of the biggest names in UK broadband are being urged to take action to try and put a stop to illegal downloads

According to a recent report four of the biggest name broadband providers in the UK are being urged to take action against customers that perform illegal downloads. The report claims that for the past six months Hollywood movie companies have been liaising with media giants BT, Tiscali, Orange, and Virgin Media, in a bid to make them act against customers that download content illegally.

The report also claims that new legislation could be coming in to place, which would mean that these providers have to take action against those that either download content illegally or do not download safely. This could involve these customers being banned from using the Internet. Action may be taken in three stages, with the first being a written warning, the second being temporary suspension, and the third offence resulting in termination of contract and Internet access.

One broadband industry official stated: “Downloading technology has moved on significantly in the life of the Internet. It will be extremely difficult for ISPs to police this as the difficulty will be isolating the ‘legal’ downloads from ‘illegal’ downloads.”

An anti-piracy official from NBC Universal said: “We welcome the signal from Government that it values the health of the creative industries and takes seriously the damage caused by widespread online copyright infringement. We call upon ISPs to take action now. They must play their part in the fight against online piracy and work with rights owners to ensure that ISPs’ customers do not use their services for illegal activity. Piracy stifles innovation and threatens the long term health of our industry.”