As the Digital Economy Act is made into law, key industry players, including ISP Talk Talk, are beginning to voice their opposition to the acts sweeping powers over cutting off accused illegal file-sharers. The Digital Economy Bill was rushed through Parliament in a period known as the ‘wash-up’, the period between a general election being […]
As the Digital Economy Act is made into law, key industry players, including ISP Talk Talk, are beginning to voice their opposition to the acts sweeping powers over cutting off accused illegal file-sharers. The Digital Economy Bill was rushed through Parliament in a period known as the ‘wash-up’, the period between a general election being called and Parliament being dissolved.
It has now been enshrined in law after it was given Royal Assent on Friday, now becoming the Digital Economy Act 2010. These measures include the disconnection of broadband customers who are deemed to be infringing copyright laws without first being given the opportunity to plead their innocence before a court.
12/04/2010
The law has already been criticised by lobby groups and parliamentarians alike, who argue that controversial measures in the Act have not had proper parliamentary scrutiny.
ISP Talk Talk, who had been vocally against the bill ever since it was first proposed, has a announced that it will not follow the more draconian aspects of the law.
In an official blog post by the company, it says that it will fight in court any attempt to force it to do things it feels are unwise, and will continue to fight against the law politically. In its blog, the company states:
“After the election we will resume highlighting the substantial dangers inherent in the proposals and that the hoped for benefits in legitimate sales will not materialise as filesharers will simply switch to other undetectable methods to get content for free.
In the meantime we stand by our pledges to our customers:
· Unless we are served with a court order we will never surrender a customer’s details to rightsholders. We are the only major ISP to have taken this stance and we will maintain it.
· If we are instructed to disconnect an account due to alleged copyright infringement we will refuse to do so and tell the rightsholders we’ll see them in court.”
