| Digital Britain - Illegal P2P file sharing |
| Articles | Internet |
Much has been made recently of Lord Peter Mandelson's comments about the Digital Britain report, illegal P2P file sharing, and the fact that he had dinner with David Geffen. But what exactly are the proposals, how do they effect us, and has anything really changed.
Back when Lord Stephen Carter's Digital Britain Report was first published on the 16th June 2009, he highlighted the need for effective self regulation, and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills published a consultation paper about the proposed legislation to address illicit P2P file sharing. This consultation was originally due to run until the 15th September, but due to the announcement on the 25th August it will now run to September 29th. The original timescale to implement changes was 2012 at the earliest, but the new announcement means that the measures may be introduced under the forthcoming Digital Economy Bill.
The measures proposed include placing Ofcom under a duty to take steps aimed at reducing online copyright infirngement, specifically obliging ISPs to notify alleged infringers of rights (subject to reasonable levels of of proof from rights-holders) that their conduct is unlawful and to collect anonymised information on serious repeat infringers to be made available to rights-holders together with personal details on receipt of a court order.
Ofcom will also be given the power to specify other conditions to be imposed on ISPs such as:
The main argument from people who are opposing the Government's announcement to bring forward plans to implement these measures appear to be based on a few different arguments. The one which seems to be getting the most press is the fact that the rights-owners appear to prefer a stick approach than a carrot led one, and it's something I can't help but agree with. I'll discuss this in more detail in my next article.
Other arguments which I have seen mentioned time and again have already been answered in full on the Digital Britain Forum http://digitalbritainforum.org.uk/2009/08/filesharing-some-accusations-and-some-answers/. These include the allegation that David Geffen is influencing the debate and the clearly incorrect accusation that the Digital Britain Report has been completely abandoned.
Read the consultation in full here. (PDF File).
|