ISP says it will disconnect music pirates

An Irish internet service provider has agreed to disconnect users who illegally download music files from the internet. Irish company Eircom has teamed up with record companies including EMI, Sony, Universal and Warner, who at first wanted Eircom to install software to detect copyrighted music files being downloaded.

But instead, the ISP will disconnect users who continue to download illegal material after two warnings. The companies will provide Eircom with the IP addresses of suspected pirates.

“High Court proceedings… have been settled on an amicable basis with both sides expressing satisfaction with the outcome,” Eircom said in a joint statement with the record companies.

“The record companies have agreed that they will take all necessary steps to put similar agreements in place with all other Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Ireland.”