When ISPs Become Copyright Police

ISPs worldwide are increasingly being required to police their users´ copyright infringements. There are different schools of thought about what copyright law should be seeking to achieve, with the main contenders being to reduce infringement, increase legitimate markets, and spread knowledge and culture by encouraging content creation and dissemination. Although ISP policing has been criticized on a number of grounds, its efficacy in achieving these aims has never been seriously questioned. This column highlights the findings of a recent major research study that demonstrates that there is in fact little to no evidence that graduated responses are achieving any of these aims, and speculates about what the future might hold for ISP enforcement.