The Digital Economy Bill

The Digital Economy Bill

We've all heard about the digital economy bill. Despite its quick and quite frankly 'hush hush' passage into British law, you may have heard of it without really understanding it and what it means for you. If you have never illegally downloaded a song off the internet, or played on a gory video game, then there's nothing for you to worry about, but the chances are you have. So here is our run down of the digital economy bill and what it means for you...

The digital economy bill has been passed into law during what is often called the 'wash-up' period. This is where outstanding legislation is rushed through before a general election. The bill covers various aspects of our lives from local television provision and video games ratings, to the powers Ofcom have and how internet domain names are registered in the UK.

What is it? The digital economy bill is a broad selection of legislation aimed at bringing Britain into the 'digital age’; it follows proposals published in June 2009. The bill will touch on many parts of our digital ways of life, but it's the illegal file sharing that has grabbed the most media attention. Measures are being introduced that have been designed to stop illegal file-sharing. This is basically a long and boring set of instructions on how to deal with net piracy.

Why is this controversial? Persistent file-sharers may be disconnected from their internet and copyright holders will be given the power to block access to websites hosting illegal content. It has also caused quite a stir with the politicians, many say the bill has been rushed through, and there are concerns about how this will affect public Wi-Fi services. Universities and libraries have also become worried.

What does this mean for me? In theory, if you do not upload or download copyrighted content, these plans should not affect you at all. But there are an estimated 6 million people in the UK who do, so you must be out there somewhere. If you do download illegally then the government and creative industries hope these new measures will encourage you to use legal services.

Why and when are these measures being brought in? The government has expressed its wishes to protect the UK’s creative industries, which it says is under a threat from piracy. It is more than likely that these measures will be introduced in 2012 if agreed upon. There will be a trial period of a year, and after the 12 months there will be a review. If illegal downloads fail to fall by at least 70% Ofcom will be asked whether more serious measures, such as temporarily suspending internet service or limiting the speed are needed.

Why do people oppose the bill? MP’s from all parties have expressed concern that the laws have not gotten enough debate and were rushed through parliament. Campaigners against the bill say it will not work and only drive illegal file sharing underground. Also Google is concerned that blocking websites may also cause legitimate sites to be blocked as well and some ISP’s are saying that they do not wish to become the internet police.

How will I be detected? The responsibility will lie with the content holders tracking you down, although ISP’s will bear some of the cost. They plan to monitor certain websites which offer links to copyright content and then grab your IP address.

Will this actually work? The music industry hopes so, but a lot of people are sceptical. More persistent file sharers are already using software that masks your IP address, and the files being sent are encrypted. But it’s not really being aimed at the technically advanced minority, it’s aimed more at the majority, which is the teenagers who do it because they can, and think they’re going to get away with it. The government hope the threat of being watched will make them stop.