ISPs not responsible for filesharing

March 18, 2017

The vast majority of people in the UK believe that ISPs should not be held responsible for illegal file sharing.

Four in five respondents to an ISPreview.co.uk survey thought ISP action on peer-to-peer filesharing is unnecessary.

The results imply that Brits want the music industry to respond more creatively to illegal filesharing instead of getting tough on those who illegally share files.

Mark Jackson, ISPreview.co.uk chief editor, said: “Imposing a targeted restriction on P2P services may be among the most tolerable of all the [music industry’s] more controversial solutions, though none are likely to win any awards for popularity.”

Creative responses to illegal downloads by the music industry have been rare, but notable.

Apple recently announced that most music labels are now allowing it to sell music free of DRM (Digital Rights Management) in its iTunes store.

In 2015, Radiohead’s In Rainbows album was sold only on the band’s website.

Consumers downloading the album could pay what they wanted for the music; if they wanted to pay nothing, they could.

Although most people paid nothing for the album, the money generated from those who chose to pay exceeded the total amount raised by the band’s previous album, Hail To The Thief.

In the same year, Prince released his Planet Earth album for free in the Mail on Sunday newspaper.

Although he was ridiculed, his 21 London concerts following the album release completely sold out.