Internet Service Providers in the UK are no longer sending out copyright infringement notices to web users caught using illegal file sharing sites.
TorrentFreak reports, the scheme funded by rights holders in the music and movie industries, has now ended. The Voluntary Copyright Alert Program letters have been going out to offending web users for the last couple of years, in an effort to educate subscribers.
The agreement between the rights holders and the ISPs saw the former monitor sites like BitTorrent for illegal activity. The ISPs agreed to forward the notices to offending subscribers.
The UK government, via the Get It Right anti piracy campaign had committed £5.5 million to the program, as part of the wider Creative Content UK (CCUK) initiative.
“Having encouraged increased awareness of the value of genuine content and of its many legally available sources, in turn resulting in reduced infringing behavior, the Get it Right campaign is now moving to its next phase,” a spokesperson said.
“The educational emails sent by ISPs upon detection of infringing file-sharing activity have served their purpose and are ceasing, with the focus instead increasing the broader engagement with fans based around their passion for music, TV, film and all other kinds of creative content.”
What that next phase will be remains to be seen, but according to the report, the program was terminated many months ago, and the focus will remain on educating offenders rather than prosecuting them. A broader advertising and social media campaign could be the focus moving forward.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
