Internet piracy could cost over one million European jobs by 2015

The growth in illegal peer-to-peer file-sharing on the Internet has a real impact on the European economy. There will be a loss of over one million jobs across Europe by 2015 and over £200bn due to the effects of the unlawful practice on creative industries. Those are the claims of a report commissioned by the International Chamber of Commerce. The TUC has also claimed that the results show that piracy was a real threat in terms of loss of revenues and employment and was proof that it was imperative for the Digital Economy Bill to become law. The Bill is controversial and is currently proceeding through Parliament. It includes a proposal to stop file-sharing by having a ‘three strikes’ deterrent which would see pirates ultimately cut-off or suspended from using the Internet. The Open Rights Group – which has criticised the Bill – has attacked the report as being ‘corporate propaganda’ to justify intrusions to free speech and privacy.