The government’s controversial anti-piracy law will not be an effective measure to counter illegal downloads and other unauthorised online behaviour. This was the purport of a statement made by technology business news website ZDNet UK.

ZDNet has stated that the anti-piracy measures will fail to stop offenders who use a mobile broadband system to browse the internet. This is because mobile broadband providers normally assign one public IP address to a group of users whose use originates from that id. It is impossible to isolate an individual who is involved in illegal file sharing from this group of users.

As the anti-piracy law requires issue of warnings first and then temporary disconnection of account if necessary, identification of the individual offender is a prerequisite for the law to work effectively. This identification will not be possible in case of mobile broadband due to the multiple-user factor.

As mobile broadband use continues to increase in proportion to the boom in sales of iPhones, smartphones and other mobile enabled gadgets, an effective system for tracking illegal users in this mobile environment is required.

The anti-piracy law has already been the butt of much criticism from industry sources and public alike. A petition against the law was recently sent to Downing Street with thousands of signatures. Ever since it was announced, the law has been considered as unfair and disproportionately harsh on the offender. In fact, a number of industry players refused to put necessary systems in place to track usage, saying that this would be a serious invasion of customer privacy.

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