Broadband internet service providers (ISPs) could soon be able to lift restrictions on peer-to-peer filesharing traffic, it has been reported.

According to ISPreview, a significant change being made to BitTorrent's uTP protocol will effectively allow popular clients to restrict how much traffic they use.

This update could be of benefit when the uTP detects that the ISP's network is becoming too congested, it is claimed.

BitTorrent's Vice-President for Product Management Simon Morris said the development has "obvious benefits" for users who will no longer congest themselves.

He said gains will also be realised by publishers who want to use BitTorrent but also protect their brand when users seed content on their behalf.

"[There will also be] benefits for ISPs who should see far fewer support issues with BitTorrent causing congestion and impacting other users on the network," Mr Morris added.

BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer filesharing protocol used for distributing large amounts of data over broadband networks.