New ideas to allow
for swifter and more flexible measures to tackle unlawful
peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing are published today by the Government.
The Government is seeking views on the idea of including a power,
under the forthcoming Digital Economy Bill, for the Secretary of
State to direct Ofcom to introduce technical measures to clamp
down on piracy, if necessary.
This would involve an obligation on Internet Service Providers
(ISPs) to take action against individual, repeat infringers - for
example by blocking access to download sites, reducing broadband
speeds, or by temporarily suspending the individual’s Internet
account.
Evidence on whether such action is required would be provided in
regular reports from Ofcom to the Secretary of State.
Previously, it had been proposed that Ofcom would undergo a
detailed process in order to ascertain that technical measures
were required. With this approach, the earliest that measures
could come into play was during 2012. The Government has now
reached the view that, if action was deemed necessary, this might
be too long to wait given the pressure put on the creative
industries by piracy. The new ideas outlined today would
potentially allow action to be taken earlier.
The Government is also considering adding account suspension to
the list of technical measures that could be used only as a last
resort against the hard core of copyright pirates.
To enable stakeholders to provide feedback on the new ideas, the
Government has today issued an explanatory statement and extended
the current consultation on unlawful P2P file sharing to 29
September. Responses received so far will still be given full
consideration.
Minister for Digital Britain, Stephen Timms said:
“Technology and consumer behaviour is fast-changing and it’s
important that Ofcom has the flexibility to respond quickly to
deal with unlawful file-sharing.
“We’ve been listening carefully to responses to the consultation
this far, and it’s become clear there are widespread concerns that
the plans as they stand could delay action, impacting unfairly
upon rights holders.
“So we look forward to hearing views on our new ideas, which
along with those already received, will help us determine the best
way to tackle this complex challenge.”
After listening to views from all sides,
the Government is also seeking views on how the costs of the
process should be covered.
It proposes that some costs, such as the operating costs
of sending out notifications and Ofcom’s costs as the Regulator,
should be shared equally between ISPs and rights holders.
Notes to Editors
The explanatory statement on P2P file-sharing can be viewed at
http://www.berr.gov.uk/administration/page13625.htmlOn 16 June,
the Government set out its action plan for the digital economy in
the Digital Britain
reporthttp://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/broadcasting/5631.aspx
Contacts:
Una Flynn
Phone: 020 7215 5256
Una.Flynn@berr.gsi.gov.uk