Virgin Broadband Snoops

Virgin Media is in negotiations with content producers about introducing a system that would slow down customers' access to material from producers that did not pay Virgin a fee, its chief executive has said.

Neil Berkett said that Virgin Media is talking to producers about creating a fast-track access system which would enable their content to be prioritised on its network.

Such a system would relegate companies which did not pay its fees to slower connections, meaning that users' experience of those sites and services would be degraded.

Berkett's comments, in an interview with the Royal Television Society's magazine Television, will ignite a debate in the UK over net neutrality, a subject that has been the source of controversy in the US in recent years. Net neutrality is the name given to the current state of internet access which treats all packets of information equally.

In the US, telecoms companies have objected to the fact that online video and audio companies are making money from internet users over networks the telcos provide. They want to be able to offer faster access to their consumers to content firms, for a fee.

Berkett told Television that he believed the UK Government was open to the idea of fast and slow lane internet access: This net-neutrality thing is a load of bollocks.

Television magazine said that Berkett told it that the company is already negotiating with content producers and video games publishers about 'more effective' access to Virgin Media subscribers. He conceded that the plan would slow down the connections subscribers would have to material produced by firms which did not pay it.

Virgin Media, the UK's largest cable-modem provider, has decided that it will spy on its users to protect the record industry.

It is sending out letters to thousands of customers warning them that infringement has been detected on their network connections (Virgin customers who leave their WiFi open will be collateral damage in this fight).

Virgin is under no obligation to do this. The law is clear that they bear no liability for downloading on their network, nor do they have any duty to spy on users or send out warnings. This is entirely off their own bat, and will come straight out of the company's bottom line. Of course, the British record industry is ecstatic and sees this as the first step in getting a law passed that will require every ISP to spy on every Internet user in the country and cut off infringers.

The campaign is a joint venture between Virgin Media and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which represents the major record labels. The BPI ultimately wants internet companies to implement a "three strikes and out" rule to warn and ultimately disconnect the estimated 6.5 million customers whose accounts are used for regular criminal activity.

BT, the UK's largest broadband provider, has begun threatening subscribers with disconnection from the internet if it is told they are sharing copyright music over peer-to-peer networks, The Register has learned.

The firm recently sent an email to one of its four million retail broadband customers, who asked not to be named, alleging that she had illegally participated in a network sharing of Biology, a song by Girls Aloud.

The email reproduces evidence collected by the BPI. It purports to show she used the open source filesharing program Ares in May this year to infringe sound recording copyright. Ares can be used as a client for both Gnutella and BitTorrent networks.

It's unclear whether BT has agreed to formally implement the record industry's preferred "three strikes" procedure that would see those accused of infringing music copyright warned twice and suspended or disconnected from the internet.

A spokesman said BT broadband customers who are infringing copyright over peer-to-peer networks can expect a similar threat if the BPI provides evidence against them.
Accusations and evidence

The BPI evidence BT shared with its customer consists of the Ares user agent, a timestamp, a file name and an IP number. BT's letter, from a member of its "Customer Security Team" states: "I have received a complaint regarding one of our customers offering copyrighted material over the internet. On investigation, I have found that your account was used to make this offer."

Collecting this kind of evidence does not require ISPs to monitor their customers' internet connection. BPI investigators are simply able to collect lists of IP numbers participating in copyright-infringing peer-to-peer networks and trace which operator they belong to. Assuming the ISP has agreed to do so, it can then identify the individual account holder without sharing personal information with the BPI.

Committed downloaders are able to take technical counter-measures to dodge detection, but the record industry is hoping to win back the mass market - it knows the hardcore are lost for good.

The BT letter goes on to threaten that if the customer continues to fileshare illegally, her broadband account will be shut down: "Sorry, but we're obliged to point out that further similar problems may have to lead to the termination of your account, as such activity contravenes BT's Acceptable Use Policy." It recommends that she ensure her Wi-Fi connection is secure, remove all filesharing software from her computer, and pass the warning on to the rest of her household.