Government backs down on cutting off filesharers

CULTURE SECRETARY Ben Bradshaw has revealed that, due to strong opposition, measures to tackle illegal filesharing will be watered down.

Under the new scheme copyright holders will need a court order before they can punish persistent illegal filesharers.

This differs from the action that had been suggested by business secretary Lord Mandelson earlier this year, coincidentally just after having spent time as a guest of music publisher David Geffen in Greece.

Mandy had said that Internet service providers would be forced to hand over to music companies and film studios information on customers who used illegal filesharing sites so that they could take action.

This original tactic was seen by many as being too heavy-handed. Now those targeted would also have the right to appeal.

Bradshaw told the House of Common's culture, media and sport committee that this measure is to protect innocent people who could be cut off from the Internet 'willy nilly', merely if they were accused.

Bradshaw said, "The suspension... would be as a very last resort for serial and serious infringement, [and] would be subject to a strict two-stage process."

A court order would come at the end of the process and would not be needed in the vast majority of cases. He said that secondly there would be a right of appeal. This lighter solution is likely to be contained in a Digital Britain bill this year.

Deloitte Media Partner James Alexander said, "It is excellent that the Digital Britain bill will try to tackle illegal file sharing, it simply cannot be ignored. Unfortunately there is no silver bullet for finding the filesharers that are really costing businesses.

"This scheme will certainly deter the naive who do not realise that they are acting illegally. However the more technically savvy will have sophisticated protective measures to stop them being found. It is this element that is costing music and film industries a lot of money. Going in with a blunt instrument results in greater effort and greater costs to the taxpayer."

Downloading content illegally will earn you a strongly worded warning letter at present. Internet service providers and content owners have long been in dispute about whether ISPs should hand over confidential information about their customers, and who should meet the cost of disconnecting them. µ