PRS calls for Filesharing Tax against UK Broadband Providers

In a recent report published, PRS for Music are asking for ISP’s to introduce a controversial tax on peer-to-peer filesharing traffic in the UK. This means that broadband providers will have to pay a fine based on the amount of pirated music they allow to be downloaded on their networks. PRS are hoping that by introducing fines against broadband provides, peer-to-peer networks and filesharing will become obsolete. PRS think that incentives are the only way to deal with the problem

PRS argue that this piracy levy is a fair solution to the current argument over who should bear the cost of illegally downloaded files. The Digital Economy Act recently stated that the illegal filesharing issue was a measurable problem that could be priced. As a result, PRS claim their paper simply provides the economic framework to deal with this problem.

There are already tools available, including Detica’s CView, that are capable of measuring illegal filesharing traffic on broadband networks, so once the ISP’s and the rights holders manage to come to an agreement over who should bear the costs, it looks like being only a matter of time before fines are implemented.

PRS calls for Filesharing Tax against UK Broadband Providers

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