The government is considering whether to cut off Internet access to the folks suspected of piracy.

UK file-sharers to be ‘cut off’

This is just another example of the music industry pursuing the wrong strategy. You can’t beat the public into submission. I don’t care if you are a label executive. Or a lawyer. Anyway, this is just another example of bad policy.

There is one interesting theme in this article. The ISPs are starting to get upset at the music industry for trying to force their hand to disconnect users. It’s the ISPs job to help make a physical connection to the Internet. The labels are pressuring the ISPs to start policing users for piracy. The ISPs don’t like being put in such a precarious position. On the one hand, they’re getting pressure from the labels through government lobbying to control piracy. On the other hand, the minute they start cutting off users, the word-of-mouth phenomenon will kick in and you’ll have many users switching service providers in protest.

Congratulations music industry. Just when I thought you couldn’t get anyone else mad at you, you prove me wrong. Way to go. We welcome the ISPs to the side of the upset consumers.