Dutch BREIN foundation counts on payment providers to tackle illegal file sharing sites

The Dutch anti-piracy foundation BREIN currently focuses on companies that provide online payments for illegal file sharing sites. The interest group is going to try to use payment data to find out who the owners of illegal internet platforms are. Also, BREIN wishes payment providers would block the transfer of payments to illegal file sharing site. This week, the director of BREIN, Tim Kuik, explained this plan in an interview with Future of Copyright.

Why do you focus on payment providers now?
"The Dutch payment service providers enable various operators of illegal file sharing websites to make money for their activities. BREIN has sent a letter to a number of these payment providers to address this problem to them.

What can the payment providers do to tackle piracy?
"BREIN states that internet platforms that engage in sharing illegally copied material are unlawful. When the payment providers facilitate the payments for these sites, they indirectly cooperate with illegal activities and therefore they should stop transferring cash flows to these illegal file sharing sites.

If the payments will stop, obviously this will not turn out to be very positive for the pirates. Also, BREIN may be able to obtain contact information of the website’s administrator or owner through payment details, if payment providers are cooperative.  This is relevant, because often an illegal file sharing site provides false (contact) information when registering its domain name.

Tim Kuik shared some backgrounds of the new approach with Future of Copyright: "We have requested several payment providers to give BREIN the name and address of illegal file sharing sites." According to Mr. Kuik, the payment providers are able to do so without court intervention. "The payment providers do not seem very willing to cooperate yet, but are deliberating on a response. If there will be no response, BREIN wil sue them and refer the matter to court."

Mr. Kuik hopes payment service providers in the Netherlands are willing to cooperate with BREIN in their fight against piracy. "I expect that payment providers will have an interest in this partnership too, in case it appears that they offer their services to websites that act unlawfully."

What do you expect from working with payment service providers?
"Perhaps this collaboration will create a kind of notice and takedown policy, where rights holders or their representatives, such as BREIN, can notify payment providers of irregularities with their customers. The payment service can subsequently take action against the illegal platform based on their terms and conditions."

At the moment, Tim Kuik does not wish to expand on which payment providers he has approached. "I can’t comment on that now, in case there will be lawsuits, the various parties and their positions will quickly become public."

We will keep you informed.