Broadband Advisor

BT has become the latest ISP to join forced with the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in a bid to get tough with illegal file-sharers, announcing plans to cut off customers who use their accounts to illegally download software from P2P networks.

This follows a similar move by Virgin, which earlier this year joined forces with the BPI on an 'education campaign' aimed at those sharing copyrighted files.

While BT's move represents the latest in a series of efforts by the industry to crack down on illegal file sharing, the company insisted it doesn't reflect a change in its policy for dealing with copyright infringement.

"We do ask that our customers adhere to our terms and conditions, which state that they must comply with all relevant laws and not infringe the rights of others," BT said.

"If a customer continues to be in breach of our terms and conditions then BT has the right to suspend or terminate that customer's account, though we work closely with customers to avoid this where possible."

ISPs have been under pressure from the government to work with the music industry in targeting illegal file sharers this year. Ministers have even threatened to introduce anti-filesharing legislation if a solution is not reached.