Microsoft did tell us in a statement that combating piracy was a top priority: “All consumers should know that piracy is illegal and that modifying their Xbox 360 console to play pirated discs violates the Xbox Live terms of use, will void their warranty and result in a ban.” But the company declined to say whether users are given warnings or whether they are given a right to appeal the ban.

BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat programme interviews 25-year-old “Raz” who was cut off after getting his console “modded” in a local shop for £75 and has since played up to 40 illegally copied games—Raz didn’t receive prior warning, his TV screen simply read: “Your console has been banned from Xbox.”

As the UK government finalises plans to combat piracy through a complex system of bandwidth throttling and eventual disconnection—as in France, accused pirates will get two warnings before disconnection—Microsoft doesn’t have to get a court order or politely write to pirates before cutting them off: if they break the law and the Xbox terms and conditions, they’re out.

Meanwhile, music and film content owners can’t as easily stop each new release being freely distributed over P2P networks. No specific online-capable hardware is needed to play music, so the music biz has to force reluctant ISPs to cut off offenders just to uphold existing IP law.