People who persist in swapping copyrighted films and music will have their Internet connections cut off under tough new laws set to be proposed by the British government yesterday.
The measures also include taking the power to target illegal downloaders away from regulator Ofcom and giving it to ministers to speed up the process.
The decision to cut off peer-to-peer filesharers is unexpected since it was ruled out by the government’s own Digital Britain report in June as going too far.
Then-communications minister Stephen Carter said illegal filesharers should receive letters of warning. If that failed to reduce piracy by at least 70 percent, Ofcom would have the power to call on Internet companies such as BT to introduce so-called “technical measures” to combat piracy. The most draconian of these measures was to slow down a persistent filesharer’s broadband connection, but it would not appear until 2012.
But yesterday the government was to take the unusual step of proposing much stricter rules midway through the Digital Britain consultation process. Illegal filesharers would still get warning letters, but if they continue to swap copyrighted material they could have their Internet connection temporarily severed, although it may be possible to retain basic access to online public services.
The power to introduce technical measures, meanwhile, will rest with the secretary of state, not Ofcom, and their introduction will not rely upon an arbitrary 70 percent reduction in piracy but be up to the minister’s discretion.
The surprise move will intensify speculation that Lord Mandelson reached a secret deal to protect the film and music industries with Hollywood mogul David Geffen earlier this month.
The business secretary met Geffen at a private dinner with members of the Rothschild banking dynasty at the family’s holiday villa in Corfu, Greece.
Following that meeting with Geffen, a long-term and outspoken opponent of online piracy, Mandelson instructed officials at his Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), charged with tackling online piracy by June’s report, to clampdown even harder on the pirates.
On Monday night, a BIS spokesperson said there was no discussion of online piracy when Mandelson met Geffen.
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