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72% Of P2P Pirates Would Stop With ISP Warning
No P2P or no Internet -- not much of a choice...

Our friend Mike Masnick at Techdirt directs our attention to a study by Entertainment Media Research, which claims that 72% of file sharers would stop file sharing -- if sent a letter by their ISP threatening to cut them off the internet. As Techdirt notes, a choice of no P2P use versus no Internet access entirely isn't much of a choice, making the survey (which was released last Spring but covered today by the BBC) a little bit silly. The results clearly help bolster entertainment industry efforts to push ISPs into the role of Internet babysitters. From the report (pdf) itself:

quote:
One of the most compelling reasons to quit would be if a consumer received a cease and desist warning notification from their ISP. 7 out of 10 currently accessing un-authorised content state they would stop if this happened. Interestingly, some of themost likely to be dissuaded are teenagers (78% for male teenagers and 75% for female teenagers). Nonetheless people are concerned about stories of prosecution, and nearly 2 in 3 say they would stop if they felt there was more chance of being caught, and over half are put off pirating by news stories.
Given the fact that the negative press from the occasional legal suit hasn't stopped P2P from growing exponentially, the entertainment industry has placed their hopes into recruiting ISPs as content gatekeepers -- either voluntarily or by getting governments to pass mandatory filtering laws. Piracy babysitter is a role some ISPs are embracing more enthusiastically than others. AT&T plans to employ filters sometime soon, while just last week we explored how Cox threatens to terminate the connections of those who receive repeated DMCA warnings.

Earlier this year RIAA President Cary Sherman, when he wasn't suggesting that AV software should scan for pirated material, hinted that there would be less piracy if users simply knew what they were doing was illegal. Sherman opined that AT&T's upcoming piracy filters would effectively work not only as a filter but as moral signposts, giving users a slight slap on the wrist should they get into downloading copyright materials. The problem is: filters can almost always be circumnavigated, and the cost of playing piracy whack-a-mole could be costly, and drive up the cost of services for consumers.