One strike and you're out, in Hull? Not any longer

Karoo, the ISP that seems to enjoy a monopoly in Hull because of the pecularities of the telecomms system there, has decided to stop disconnecting users after a single accusation and will now require a court order, according to this report on Techdirt. Karoo is part of Kingston Communications, a subsidiary of KCOM, the corporate entitle created by [Kingston Upon] Hull Council to take over the telephone service it had been operating since 1902.

Is it really better that a court order is necessary? It's not something to go after lightly. If the matter is copyright infringement or defamation - and it will nearly always be one or the other - proceedings will have to be issued in the High Court, which is an expensive undertaking. Anyway, the whole drift of the Civil Procedure reforms ten or so years ago was to stop people bothering the courts so much, so requiring proceedings to be issued and a court order obtained is a giant step backwards, or perhaps forwards, depending on your point of view.