If you pirate TV shows online, you could be about to get a ‘20 day warning’

People who have pirated TV shows such as Game of Thrones could soon receive a rather alarming ‘20 day warning’ from their ISPs.

‘Educational emails’ from ISPs including Virgin Media, TalkTalk, Sky and BT are currently being sent out – aimed at customers whose connection has been used to pirate TV shows.

The 20-day warning refers to the gap between educational emails – if you continue to pirate shows after the first one, you’ll continue to get more.

The emails are ‘educational’, rather than threatening, though – offering information on how to download or stream content legally.

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ISPs will send them when they receive a Copyright Infringement notice from a company which makes the content, ISP Review reported.

Your ISP will store details of copyright violations for up to a year, TorrentFreak reports – although as yet, it’s not clear whether persistent pirates will receive any punishment beyond repeated emails.

The government’s ‘Get It Right’ campaign says, ‘After an Educational Email has been sent, there is a 20 day grace period during which time you will not receive any further emails. However, if further copyright infringement activity occurs and is detected after the 20 day grace period, you may receive another email from your ISP.’

Sky says,, ‘By sharing illegally rather than enjoying it from legitimate sources, you aren’t supporting the growth and success of the content you love.

‘The campaign was initiated by the creators of copyrighted material, and supported by the UK’s largest internet service providers, to help people access content from genuine sites, whether it be music, films, books, sports or any other creative material.’