05. Policy on p2p: Three Step Procedure

Explaining how the “three step” procedure would work

Overview

To help tackle the problem of illegal peer-to-peer (p2p) filesharing, the BPI has been calling for all ISPs to implement a simple, non-technological policy which involves no spying on their customers or invasions of privacy, called Three Steps (advice, suspension, cancellation of contract). 

People who fileshare illegally are not anonymous and undetectable: in reality it is no harder to collect evidence than it is to use the network itself.

The BPI collects evidence, sends it to the ISP, and the ISP is then asked to communicate with the customer whose account is being used illegally and provide them with advice about how to avoid that in future and how to enjoy music legally online. The possibility of account suspension, and the ultimate sanction of contract cancellation, would follow for those customers who choose to continue filesharing illegally, despite receiving that advice.

The BPI believes three-step is the simplest and most effective way that ISPs can voluntarily cooperate with rightholders to tackle illegal filesharing.

About the three steps

Step One: Advice

The first letter is intended to be educational. The letters would contain similar information to that Virgin Media are sending to customers in partnership with the BPI:

Virgin Media Letter

http://tinyurl.com/4yq5lj

BPI letter

http://tinyurl.com/48l9w2

The customer is told why they have been written to, and offers them advice on how to prevent further account abuse, e.g. speaking to others in the household who may be using the account illegally, securing any unsecured routers, scanning the computer for p2p software, and providing a list of legal services.

Step Two: Suspension

If a customer’s account is identified a second time, their account is suspended. The customer is asked to sign a written undertaking stating that their account will not continue to be used illegally, and that they understand that further illegal use of that account may result in the cancellation of their contract. The account remains suspended until the undertaking is returned.

Step Three: Contract Cancellation

If a customer’s account is identified a third time, their contract with the internet service provider is cancelled, in line with the terms and conditions outlined in the contract.

How evidence is collected and how it is used

There is no “spying” under three-step: the evidence collected by the BPI is in fact made available by any uploader to in the normal course of using a p2p network. There is no “policing” by the ISP: it is the BPI, and not the ISP, who collects this evidence. Nor does the process raise “data protection issues”: no personal customer information is collected by the BPI in this process, nor is it requested by the BPI.

It’s important to understand how p2p filesharing works. For computers to share files, one computer (uploader) transmits an “IP address” to enable another computer (downloader) to locate the file and download/ copy it.

An IP address is a unique number that identifies a unique internet location. It is from the IP address that individuals using p2p networks can be identified. It is simple to tell which ISP “owns” an IP address, but only the ISP knows which customer was using that IP address at that particular time.

Without going into precise technical details on how the information is collected and documented, the BPI logs on to the network as a peer - similar to the way in which any other p2p user does - and initiates a download from the IP address, using a semi-automated process.

The BPI supplies the information to the ISP, which can identify the customer concerned from the IP address that made the file unlawfully available. This enables the ISP to implement the three step process.

The evidence collection process is robust: the technique has stood up to High Court scrutiny on numerous occasions, and similar evidence has been used to bring more than 50,000 legal cases against the users themselves across Europe. Not one of those cases has recorded a mistaken ID, or been successfully contested.

For further information, contact the BPI press office on 020 7803 1395. The BPI (formerly known as British Phonographic Industry) represents the British recorded music business.

http://www.bpi.co.uk/isp-partnership