Sky users to get demand for cash - for illegally downloading porn

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Sky has warned some of its customers that they are about to receive letters demanding they pay cash, and alleging that they have illegally downloaded porn. Sky has been forced to hand over customer details to the company behind the letter - and says people should read it carefully.

The letters come from a company called Golden Eye. It targets internet users that it believes have downloaded pornography illegally, threatening them with legal action, and demanding they hand over cash for copyright infringement - or risk going to court.

The company has previously targeted O2 users,- and now Golden Eye has got a court order against Sky. It got hold of a list of IP addresses it alleges were involved in file sharing porn, and the court agreed that Sky had to hand over details of the customers.

The company will now send thousands of letters to those it believes have infringed copyright. Sky told the BBC: "We have written to all affected customers, advising them carefully to read the letter from Golden Eye, and if they want any further help, to contact the Citizens' Advice Bureau."
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What should you do?

This isn't the only firm engaged in this lucrative business. So-called copyright trolling involves companies monitoring file-sharing networks to find people sharing their content. The users are then tracked, and contacted with demands to pay up or risk going to court. Golden Eye is onto a winner here, because the thought of the shame of going to court over their pornography habits is enough to make many people pay up.

Golden Eye says it is specifically targeting people for whom it has evidence of copyright infringement, and insists that it will pursue cases against those who don't pay up.

Citizens Advice says it's essential not to ignore the letter, and to respond within the time limit stated on the letter, but that you don't necessarily have to pay.

You can admit the claim, deny it, or ask for more information before making a full response. You need to write back to Golden Eye and not Sky.

If the letter does not have details of the work in question and the exact date and time you were alleged to have downloaded it, you should write to ask for these details. If they cannot provide them, they have no right to claim a settlement or damages from you.

If it does show these details, check whether you can prove you were not at home when the downloads happened. There may be other people using your internet connection, and you are not responsible for what they download.

Bear in mind that they need to be able to prove that it's you who downloaded films illegally. If they can't do that, they cannot sensibly take you to court.

Citizens Advice has some excellent advice on this issue, including template letters to deny the claim, those to admit the claim, and those to ask for more information. If you would rather speak to someone in person, Citizens Advice is urging people to visit and discuss what they should do next.

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