£30 charge targets internet music pirates

Published on Thursday 24 July 2008 00:40

INTERNET users could face an annual charge of up to £30 to download music under plans to tackle illegal file-sharing, it emerged last night.

Six of the UK's biggest internet providers are understood to be backing the government's proposals to tackle online music piracy. The deal is expected to be announced today.

The first stage of the campaign, spearheaded by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, will involve hundreds of thousands of letters being sent to users suspected of file-sharing, it was reported last night.

It is also understood the internet companies, who have signed up to a Memorandum of Understanding, have agreed to ensure their customers know it is illegal to share copyrighted music.

In turn, ministers will look at introducing a law that will force the companies to tackle music piracy.

In the past few weeks Virgin and BT have sent letters to some of their customers identified by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which represents the UK record industry, as persistent music pirates.

In the past, internet firms and providers have resisted the call from the BPI to disconnect pirates, arguing it is not their job to police the worldwide web.

Six million people a year are estimated to download files illegally in the UK.