More than 100 British musicians and copyright holders recently met to discuss how the music industry should tackle online music piracy.
The meeting took place due to a recent conversation about what to do with Internet users believed to be serial file sharers. Should they be fined? Have Internet speeds reduced? Face actual banishment from the Internet while at home?
The discussion has been occurring for some time now, with France at the forefront of kicking file sharers off the Internet -- but Britain and several other European nations may follow suit in the next year.
In the United States repeat offenders don't get booted off the Internet -- a small percentage faced legal actions related to Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) lawsuits -- but it's not common place for sharers to get banned.
The artists reportedly "overwhelmingly voted" in favor of sending two warning letters to file sharers before they face Internet restrictions. Previous sentences average between six months to one-year away from the Internet, depending on the number of times warned, amount of files shared, and other similar factors.
If an Internet user already has limited broadband connection -- leaving them with e-mail and general Internet access, but without the speed to quickly download and share files -- but is caught sharing files again, then an actual ban could be put in place.
I think kicking repeat sharers off of the Internet for a predetermined amount of time may be a bit extreme, but it is likely better than filing lawsuits against alleged copyright infringers. I am supportive of restricting broadband speeds, which would punish an Internet user while still leaving them connected.
The musicians and copyright holders will contribute their thoughts to the British government as early as a few days from now -- with the rest of Europe looking on -- to see what will be done with the collected information.
What do you think should be done with repeat file sharers? Should copyright holders slap them with a fine, or simply boot them off of the Internet?
