UK broadband users who have illegally downloaded music and movies have been sent letters of warning by their provider
Around 800 file sharers have been alerted by Virgin Media in this way, which sent out the letters as part of an anti-piracy campaign run in conjunction with music industry body the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). On the document's envelope, users are threatened with the possibility of being disconnected if they carry on with the illegal downloads.
However, the broadband provider said today that it meant the campaign to be "educational" and that the warning on the envelope was a "mistake", technology news source VNUnet.com reports.
Speaking to the website, a Virgin Media spokesman added: "This is about education…we make no assumptions about who is at fault. It may be someone in the family or someone illegally using their WiFi connection."
Meanwhile, the BPI indicates that "thousands" of letters are still to be sent out to broadband users, advising them to stop the activities. The body, which believes that illegal downloading eats into the industry's profit margins, wishes to eventually introduce a "three strikes" policy which would see persistent offenders having their broadband connections disconnected.
The only broadband provider to back this campaign thus far is Virgin Media, the UK's second-largest provider by customer numbers.
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