O2 Slams Legal Firm For Bullying File Sharers Into Paying Fine

Mobile network operator and internet service provider O2 has joined the chorus of firms slamming the measures to address the issue of illicit file sharing, after it emerged that a flurry of contentious letters had been sent by the right holders and their lawyers to suspected offenders.

The whole issue hovers around UK Law firm ACS: Law, and its client DigiProtect, which is anti-piracy outfit that represents several content owners.

The law firm has been sending letters to the suspected file sharers, in which they notify the users of their alleged practice of illegal file-sharing, and subsequently offer them an option to settle the issue out of court for a charge of £500 per infringement.

O2 has even gone to the extent to call these letters as "threatening" and "bullying" in nature. The mobile operator has lambasted the practice, which has been tailored to prey on users’ fears of a rather expensive lawsuit. 

BBC quoted an O2 spokesperson as saying: “Where we are legally obliged to provide information and the correct paperwork is presented, we will comply with the law. But we prefer the 'win-win' approach of encouraging the development of new business models that offer customers the content they want, how they want it, for a fair price.”