Karoo Has New Policy For Illegal Broadband File Sharers

Karoo, the internet service provider in Hull has introduced a new policy to combat illegal broadband file sharers on its network.

The new ‘3 strikes and you’re out’ policy comes after it was widely reported that the company was disconnecting users suspected of piracy without any prior warning.

Such action provoked anger from the residents of Hull where Karoo is the only ISP with a near monopoly position and also the Open Rights Group and Consumer Focus.

According to reports, in order for a user to get re-connected, they were required to sign a document which admitted their guilt and also confirmed that they would not repeat the offence again.

Commenting on the new policy, the Director of Consumer and Publishing Services at Karoo, Nick Thompson said, “It is evident that we have been exceeding the expectations of copyright owners, the media and Internet users. So, we have changed our policy to move in more line with the industry standard approach, whilst still taking the issues of copyright infringement and illegal internet activity seriously. Going forward, we will provide customers with three written notifications before their service is temporarily suspended”.

Internet piracy is a big problem within the UK and one the government has tried to cover in the recent Digital Britain Report.

Measures including bandwidth capping and site blocking, rather than actual disconnection were put forward as possible ways to help address the problem.