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Virgin Media to voluntarily ban P2P users

tex
Grafter
Posts: 69
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Virgin Media to voluntarily ban P2P users

You might have read the news...
[quote=http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/261170527/]Virgin Media in the UK has announced that it is working with the music industry to chase down its file-sharing customers and disconnect them from the internet.
Will PN ever do the same and punish their users beyond what the law requires? I hope to god not.
10 REPLIES 10
paulby
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Registered: ‎26-07-2007

Re: Virgin Media to voluntarily ban P2P users

Also this on ThinkBroadband.
It may be something PN will be forced to implement if the Government has to intervene - see this article (also linked from TBB article).
HPsauce
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Re: Virgin Media to voluntarily ban P2P users

BT have been doing it under pressure I think from the PRS who are getting the evidence and presenting it to the ISP's. As I heard it the "lower-level" sharers get a warning by the ISP and if they stop that's an end of it; they're identified by the PRS giving lists of IP addresses gleaned from the "big players" that they're pursuing, so the PRS don't know who they are.
I imagine any ISP presented with such evidence would have to either take some action or be faced with a  court order to identify the culprits.
(OK maybe BPI not PRS...)
zubel
Community Veteran
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Re: Virgin Media to voluntarily ban P2P users

I love the phrase "evidence" though.
I'm sure most technically minded here could shoot holes in their 'evidence'
B.
HPsauce
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Re: Virgin Media to voluntarily ban P2P users

I know (indirectly) of someone warned by BT who queried it - they gave him chapter and verse on the open shares on his PC, the sharing software he was using, what songs were on it etc. He stopped.
prichardson
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Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Virgin Media to voluntarily ban P2P users

From a personal perspective, I actually support the idea to a degree. At the end of the day, theft is theft, which when all said and done is the basic description of it all (though dumbed down a lot).
However, I was under quite a distinct impression that only a court could weigh the evidance and find you guilty?
I do wonder. Could I find something I claim I hold the rights to and get someboy kicked off the internet in spite?
Afterall, I would be using the same techniques and using the same potentially groundless facts on which to stake my claim to my rights.
HPsauce
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Re: Virgin Media to voluntarily ban P2P users

Re "borrowing" wireless, have a read of the relevant bit of the "Be" FUP:
What about usage by kids and others without you knowing?
No excuse. You are responsible for all uses made of Be’s Internet services through your account (whether authorised or unauthorised) and for any breach of this Policy whether an unacceptable use occurs or is attempted, whether you knew or should have known about it, whether or not you carried out or attempted the unacceptable use alone, contributed to or acted with others or allowed any unacceptable use to occur by omission. You agree that Be are not responsible for any of your activities in using the network. Although the Internet is designed to appeal to a broad audience, it’s your responsibility to determine whether any of the content accessed via Be’s Internet service is appropriate for children or others in your household or office to view or use.
zubel
Community Veteran
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Re: Virgin Media to voluntarily ban P2P users

Actually, I'm not concerned about the 'borrowing' bit.
What I am concerned about is a self-elected organisation employing unlicensed 'investigators' using proprietary programs conjuring an 'infringing' IP address out of thin air with no clearly defined method, or audit trail.
On that basis, I could conjure a few IP addresses out of the air and fabricate evidence that they were infringing on my copyrights and IP in about 10 minutes.  Unfortunately, I would have no recourse to go to their ISP's and insist that they were disconnected because I cannot prove it
Yes, I agree copyright infringement should be dealt with, but this seems like a method that has many potential holes in it.  I predict a huge swathe of 'incorrect' allegations against various users which will simply be swept under the carpet.
B.
tex
Grafter
Posts: 69
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Virgin Media to voluntarily ban P2P users

Well this way is the wrong way to go about it. The massive cost of monitoring usage and dealing with legal issues would be a great burden on ISPS and this will cause an inevitable price increase for broadband customers. Why should a few bad apples cause a poorer quality of service for the overwhelming majority of us law abiding citizens. Apparently this view is shared by Virgin Media as well, who now deny the allegations that they are working with the British Phonographic Industry (http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/263425480/).
dvorak
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Re: Virgin Media to voluntarily ban P2P users

Why should the ISPs be forced to do anything?
Wouldn't it be like saying that all car makers stick a black box in a car and every time a speed limit is broken then the box has to report to the police? And it wouldn't matter who was driving just the owner of the car would be prosecuted..
Since when does been a conduit make you libel? In fact the government should arrest themselves for making roads which enable me to speed.
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fred
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Registered: ‎27-02-2008

Re: Virgin Media to voluntarily ban P2P users

Quote from: adiewoo
Wouldn't it be like saying that all car makers stick a black box in a car and every time a speed limit is broken then the box has to report to the police? And it wouldn't matter who was driving just the owner of the car would be prosecuted..

If I understand correctly, in New York State it is mandatory to have a black box in your car. It is read every year during the annual fitness examination(=MOT). The data it logs is thought to be a State secret.