Music and film companies have asked broadband providers to keep a database of people who repeatedly illegally download music, films and books.
Record label heads and their trade association, the BPI, are to meet David Cameron at Downing Street on September 12 to discuss the issue of online piracy, reports the Guardian.
And BT, Virgin Media, BSkyB and TalkTalk have been asked to sign up to a voluntary code to police illegal downloads by creating a database of repeat offenders.
Between November 2012 and January 2013, instances of digital piracy numbered 280m music tracks, 52m television shows, 29m films, 18m ebooks and 7m computer software/games, according to communications regulator Ofcom.
Further data from Ofcom suggests 18% of people aged 12 and over have illegally downloaded content recently, but only half of them fear being caught.
And studios and music labels are now pushing for a database after the Digital Economy Act, created to combat piracy, has yet to be implemented after becoming law in 2010.
The database would see letters sent to customers by their broadband provider warning them they had illegally downloaded content.
After three such letters, measures including slowing the customers’ internet connections, blocking them from websites and even prosecution could be carried out.
But concerns exist that the database would be illegal under the Data Protection Act, which states companies can only withhold information for commercial purposes.
