Belgacom urged to block illegal music file sharing
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian music copyright group SABAM has written to Belgium's dominant telecoms group Belgacom, urging it to commit to blocking or filtering illegal music file sharing, Belgian daily Le Soir reported on Saturday.
SABAM's letter, sent on Thursday, gives Belgacom eight days to react, Le Soir said.
The letter follows on a decision by a Belgian court earlier this month giving another Belgian ISP, Scarlet -- formerly part of Tiscali -- six months to implement measures to block or filter copyright-infringing material on peer-to-peer networks.
Peer-to-peer file-sharing is estimated to cost the music industry billions of dollars each year in revenues that it could have made from CD sales or paid-for downloads.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which represents hundreds of record companies worldwide, has hailed the Belgian court decision, saying the case could set a precedent for the international fight against piracy.
A spokesman for Belgacom told Le Soir that it was responsible for transmitting information, not for its content.
"As access provider our role is simply to transport information," spokesman Haroun Fenaux said. "We are not opposed to technical solutions but under the sine que none condition that they do not hamper our clients' privacy," he said.
