ISPs in UK have been ordered to divulge the identities of 150 people accused of the unauthorised sharing of software via the Internet.

Ten ISPs received a High Court order on Monday instructing them to hand over details of the alleged unauthorised file-sharers to the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST), a pressure group that represents the software industry.

The ISPs have two weeks to divulge full personal details of the customers involved, including their names, addresses and dates of birth.

Judge Raynor confirmed that there was “an overwhelming case” for ordering such customer details to be released. ISPs cannot release such customer details without a court order, as this would be a breach of the Data Protection Act.

The main ISPs involved are BT, Telewest, Tiscali, and NTL, according to John Lovelock, FAST’s director-general. All have agreed to provide customer information to FAST, which claims to be working closely with police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Source: ZDNet