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It was 2008 when the UK government originally proposed disconnecting pirates from the Internet<\/a>, then a few months later Australia followed suit<\/a>.<\/p>\n The latest is that it’s really going to be legislated and will come into force by April 2010 under the Digital Economy Bill.<\/p>\n I’ve noticed this trend picking up lately, a few companies are adopting this strategy or at least discussing it. First hit – warning, second hit – suspension then finally third hit is permanent disconnection and possible blacklisting.<\/p>\n Illegal file-sharers could be booted off the internet by summer 2011, says Lord Mandelson. The Business Secretary, who has been charged with ironing out the UK’s plans to tackle internet piracy, revealed that disconnecting repeat offenders will be a last resort.<\/p>\n Mandelson told the government’s Digital Creative Industries Conference that the “consequence-free” days of illegal file-sharing are over, and that a “legislate and enforce” strategy had been identified as the best way to tackle the problem. “Three strikes is a reasonable way of describing our approach,” he said.<\/p>\n The legislation, which will see those caught illegally downloading sent warning letters, will be officially set out in the Digital Economy Bill that is expected next month and will come into force in April 2010. “Technical measures will be a last resort and I have no expectation of mass suspensions resulting.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I don’t see what the big deal is really, just use encrypted protocols or sign up to a VPN package and use another country that’s no so big on stamping down on piracy.<\/p>\n A lot of people use VPNs here in US or UK simply because BitTorrent traffic is throttled, it’s a small price to pay.<\/p>\n The same measures could be used to avoid any ISP snooping and get your downloads in peace. The whole Torrent scene has become a bit of a mess lately and it’s a hotpot of bogus files and tracked downloads.<\/p>\n