UK ISP That Used To Cut Off Users On Accusation Now Wants Court Order

from the see-what-publicity-can-do dept

It's amazing what a little publicity can do. Often when we write about things here, people who disagree with us post comments along the lines of "if you don't like it, stop talking about it and change it." They say this as if getting some publicity on a bad situation doesn't help change it. A few weeks ago, we wrote about Karoo, an ISP in the UK that wasn't just taking claims of unauthorized file sharing from the entertainment industry against its customers at face value, but was cutting them off on the very first accusation, with no real recourse. Except, after all the publicity from the original BBC report and others discussing it, Karoo quickly caved in, and said it would switch to a three strikes policy. Now, a few weeks later, the company is admitting that it will only disconnect someone over file sharing if it gets a court order. So in the period of just a few weeks, a little publicity turned a bad situation into a much better one.

Filed Under: publicity, sunlight, three strikes, uk
Companies: karoo

Only ISP In Town Pulling Plug On Suspected File Sharers With No Recourse [Update]

from the guilt-by-accusation dept

With all the talk about various "three strikes" plans to kick accused (but not convicted) file sharers off the internet, it appears that one ISP, called Kaloo, in the UK has taken this to an extreme: it's kicking people off on the first accusation of infringement, with no warning, and the only way to get reconnected is to sign a form admitting guilt and promising not to do it again. Even worse? It's the only ISP in town, so people who get kicked off are basically without an internet connection. What's really odd is that the ISP doesn't seem to recognize how a complete lack of due process is a problem, calling the program "reasonable" and suggesting it "protects people from illegal activity." No, actually, it doesn't. It cuts people off from what's increasingly a vital communications system without any real proof or due process. Doesn't that seem like a problem? Update: With all the fuss and publicity from the BBC article the ISP seems to have agreed to change its policy to a "three strikes" one. That's still not great, but better than the one strike plan.

Filed Under: copyright, hull, isp, one strike, three strikes, uk
Companies: karoo

UK ISP Claims It Will Disconnect Any Customers With Open WiFi

from the but-will-it-really? dept

Apparently the UK ISP Karoo has changed its terms of service to note that it will disconnect customers if it discovers they have an open WiFi access point. This isn't all that surprising, though it isn't particularly reasonable. When WiFi first came on the scene a few years back, there were a few ISPs that claimed the same thing -- though their reasoning was that they were afraid people with open WiFi were illegally "sharing" the connection with neighbors. Hell, there were some ISPs that wanted to charge you per computer you connected to a broadband connection. However, as WiFi became common, most ISPs dropped those restrictions, so it is interesting to see them coming back. The reason for cutting off open WiFi users is unclear -- and it's likely that Karoo will claim security reasons -- but TorrentFreak wonders if it has anything to do with the entertainment industry, which is sick of losing cases after people point out that, thanks to an open WiFi, it could be anyone that had used the connection. Either way, it seems like a good reason to find a new ISP, if your ISP is going to get involved in how you set up your local network.

Filed Under: disconnect, open wifi, uk, wifi
Companies: karoo