All UK Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) will start sending piracy warnings this month to anyone found to be downloading content illegally.
In order to curb online piracy, the movie and music industries signed an agreement with the UK’s leading ISPs to send educational alerts for alleged copyright infringers.
The move is part of the UK government’s Creative Content UK (CCUK) initiative, which aims to tackle copyright infringement.
BT, Virgin Media and Sky will start sending out letters on 17 January, and TalkTalk’s campaign will start at the end of the month.
According to the BBC the email reads: “Get It Right from a Genuine Site’ has got in touch with us.
“Get it Right is a government-backed campaign acting for copyright owners who think their content’s been shared without their permission.
“It looks like someone has been using your broadband to share copyrighted material
(that means things like music, films, sport or books).
“And as your broadband provider, we have to let you know when this happens.”
Users will also get tips and advice on how to stop this kind of activity from occurring repeatedly.
A Get it Right spokesperson was quoted by the BBC as saying, “The educational campaign has now been running successfully for over a year with the educational email element beginning during the early part of 2017.”
There is no clarity on what will happen if users ignore the email. One torrent user was recently fined thousands of pounds.
Last September, the UK Internet Services Provider Association surveyed its membership of over 200 companies on cybersecurity.
Cyber security was a priority for 79% of ISPs surveyed, 77% said spending is increasing and MDs or C-Suite executives are accountable for cyber attacks.
The ISPA proposed five cybersecurity recommendations for government and law enforcement based on the findings.
