Britain to cut Web access of Internet pirates, squeeze bandwith of illegal file sharers

Britain to cut Web access of Internet pirates

LONDON — The British government says it will act to lock persistent illegal file sharers out of the Internet by forcing service providers to pull the plug on their lawbreaking customers.

British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said that Britons who repeatedly download music or films illegally would have their connections suspended from mid-2011.

But some Internet service providers opposed the move, with one of them saying it was prepared to take the matter to Britain’s courts.

Mandelson said Wednesday that illegal downloads were costing the creative industries millions of pounds (dollars) a year and that “we cannot sit back and do nothing.”

The proposed law is expected to come into effect next year.