U.K. Seeks Stricter Curbs on Illegal File-Sharers

LONDON: The British government is exploring a proposal that would terminate the Internet connections of people who repeatedly download illegal content.

The statement from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said the proposed amendment to the Digital Britain bill will require ISPs to take action against repeat offenders. This would include blocking their access to download sites, reducing their broadband speed or temporarily suspending their account. The cost of tracking down and notifying these pirates would be shared between ISPs and rights-holders, the according to the proposed plan.

The Digital Britain report, released in June, gave Ofcom until 2012 to determine if such measures were necessary. However, "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 Minister for Digital Britain, Stephen Timms, stated: 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.”