The net tightens
Virgin Media is to trial a deep packet inspection technology called CView, made by Detica, which is designed to measure copyright infringement on the Internet.
According to Detica, CView analyses anonymous ISP traffic data in order to supply information on the total volume of file-sharing. It stresses that the tool does not identify individuals or store their data, but it's hard to see how useful a broad indication of the scale of the practice will be by itself.
Jon James, executive director of broadband at Virgin Media, said: "Understanding how consumer behaviour is changing will be an important requirement of Virgin Media's upcoming music offering and, should they become law, the Government's legislative proposals will also require measurement of the level of copyright infringement on ISPs' networks.
"Detica's CView technology potentially offers a non-intrusive solution which enhances our understanding of aggregate customer behaviour without identifying or storing individual customers' data."
Andy Frost, Director of Media at Detica says: "We hope the launch of Detica CView will pave the way for stronger collaboration between ISPs and the media industry, by enabling all parties to more accurately measure the success of shared initiatives, reduce digital piracy and provide an unparalleled level of accuracy."
