Ofcom ordered to review planned DEA crackdown on IP piracy

The move is likely to delay the Digital Economy Act's site-blocking provisions

The government has ordered Ofcom to review the planned crackdown on intellectual property piracy in the Digital Economy Act, in a move likely to delay the new law's site blocking provisions.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, whose remit has been widened by absorbing some of the IT and media responsibilities of Business Secretary Vince Cable, said he had "no problem" with the principle of blocking access to web sites that were infringing copyright on music, films and TV programmes.

But he added: "It is not clear whether the site-blocking provisions in the act could work in practice, so I have asked Ofcom to address this question. Before we consider introducing site-blocking we need to know whether it is possible to enforce these measures."

The new law was rushed onto the statute book in the dying days of the last Labour government amid allegations of a lack of proper scrutiny.

Music publishers and the film industry fear Hunt's intervention will delay the copyright crackdown promised in the legislation and that they will suffer further losses through illegal file-sharing.

But Hunt said: "The government is committed to creating the right conditions for businesses to grow. This includes providing them with the right tools to protect the products of their hard work and investment.

"The Digital Economy Act seeks to protect our creative economy from online copyright infringement, which the industry estimates costs them £400m a year."

The site-blocking provisions require further secondary legislation before they can be introduced.

Some ISPs have launched legal action against what they see as enforcement through the imposition of a burdensome responsibility for something beyond their control.