That there’s fighting Talktalk, round two

IN FEBRUARY we reported that mobile network operator Talktalk unleashed a terse statement in response to the Government's Digital Economy Bill. Talktalk's director of strategy and regulation, Andrew Heaney had issued the statement saying the company is the only major ISP not prepared to disconnect its customers for alleged filesharing.

The gloves were off and we doffed our cap to Talktalk. The Government has to comply with e-Commerce Directive legislation, under which ISPs cannot be placed under a general obligation to monitor the Internet. The Government was bending rules beyond the bounds of physics and reason by exploiting the law to pressure ISPs to legally provide account information.

Now Andrew Heaney has come out swinging in round two. It was reported yesterday in the Open Rights Groups that Lord Clement Jones pushed through another amendment to the Bill. The change effectively allows web censorship by web blocking for 'substantially infringing' websites.

Heaney is furious. "Making the restriction of websites a more widespread policy would be dangerous given its major impact on Internet users' human rights, freedom of expression and privacy. We fear it could also be a backdoor to censorship of the internet," he concluded.

In between calling the measure "draconian" and "futile", Heaney went on to say that Talktalk is very worried. "The amendment seems to require ISPs - and by implication their customers - to pay costs to rightsholders unless we bar a site prior to an injunction being granted against it. The amendment proposes that if a rightsholder's application for an injunction against a website is ultimately successful, the ISP has to pay the rightsholder's costs for making that application. This will inevitably encourage ISPs to bar access to a site immediately, in effect turning us into judges deciding which sites our customers can and cannot access."

Sock it to 'em, Talktalk. µ