Government delays publishing results of online piracy consultation

Ofcom waits on Department for Business, Innovation & Skills consultation results on ISP cost sharing

Online piracy laws await government publication of costs applying to ISPs

Comms regulator Ofcom is delaying its final two consultations on a code of conduct for ISPs to deal with copyright infringement and illegal file sharing.

The watchdog said it is still waiting on the government to publish the outcome of its consultation into how the costs of any obligations applied to ISPs would be shared.

That initial consultation was launched by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS).

An Ofcom spokesman said: “Our tariff-setting work will be dependent on the government’s cost sharing consultation.”

Ofcom published its Draft Code of Practice for tackling online piracy in May, and consultation closed on 30 July.

The code of practice set out by Ofcom would be applicable only to large fixed line ISPs covering 96.5 per cent of the UK residential and SME business market.

The code is a requirement of the Digital Economy Act, which was made law on 12 April, and which went into force on 12 June.

Ofcom’s second and third consultations on enforcement of its draft code and tariff settings were due to start in July and September.

These consultations, however, depended on the results of the BIS consultation into cost sharing, which have not yet materialised.

BIS was unavailable to comment on the delay to the publication of its consultation findings.