Digital Economy Act faces backlash

New measures could cost ISPs as much as £15m as they are forced to police their networks

The Digital Economy Bill has now been made the Digital Economy Act 2010, despite cross party opposition, a public campaign against it and a vow to defy file sharing laws from ISP TalkTalk.

The most controversial part of the act upholds traditional copyright law and is deemed to represent the vested interests of the music and film industry at the expense of the public and ISPs.

The bill was given a third reading in the House of Commons last week as part of the “wash-up”, a process by which bills are normally filleted of anything controversial and then rushed through in the final few hours before parliament is dissolved prior to an election.

The act includes provisions relating to the UK’s communications infrastructure, public service broadcasting, copyright licensing and online infringement of copyright, as well as security and safety online and in video games.

The online infringement of copyright provision of the act, the part that would see file sharers’ internet connections terminated, will require secondary legislation before it can be implemented.

However, section 15 regarding the sharing of costs in relation to provisions on online infringement of copyright, will come into effect immediately and could cost ISPs as much as £15m as they are forced to police their networks, according to a consultation document recently released by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

Labour MP Tom Watson, an opponent of the bill, said at the time: “We have had to submit amendments and consider our thoughts on the amendments to this bill at lightning speed.”

He argued that the bill should instead have been considered carefully by the next parliament.

Watson’s calls for closer scrutiny were echoed by several pressure groups including Whatdebill.org, which organised a Twitter campaign against the bill in which 4,200 people tweeted their displeasure in 12 hours.

In the same vein, a meeting at the Commons earlier this month, organised by Watson and fellow MP John Grogan in collaboration with consumer watchdog Consumer Focus, saw several industry leaders voice concerns.

BT’s director of industrial policy, Simon Milner, said at the meeting: “The [Digital Economy] bill was originally a balanced bill, but subsequent amendments have meant that the interests of the music industry have been too heavily represented, with other interests not properly considered at all.”

The Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) has described the clauses relating to the ISPs policing the internet as “unworkable…[and] serving only to preserve failing business models.”

Broadband provider TalkTalk has also criticised the bill, vowing to defy the new file sharing laws when they come into force.