Websites offering illegal copyrighted material could see their advertising revenue cut under a new initiative.
Police have created an online database of websites "verified" as being illegal.
It is hoped that firms that handle advertising will use the resource to make sure they do not serve advertising on those sites, cutting off revenue.U.K. Police Create IWL Database To Help Cut Ad Revenue From Copyright-Infringing Sites [bbc.co.uk]
The Infringing Website List (IWL) will be an "up-to-date list of copyright infringing sites" that can be cross-referenced by those third parties, in the hope that they will pull their advertising from those sites.
"If an advert from an established brand appears on an infringing website not only does it lend the site a look of legitimacy, but inadvertently the brand and advertiser are funding online crime," said Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fyfe from the City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (Pipcu).
