Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw is reported to have announced that the Government has ‘watered down’ its filesharing proposals. “Rights holders will have to obtain a court order before punishing persistent offenders by reducing or cutting off their internet connections,” he told the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Tuesday. Great. A victory for common sense. A Government U-Turn. Well, maybe not.
Closer inspection of what the Secretary of State said suggests he is simply referring to the process rights holders will have to go through to get the details of suspected of copyright infringers. Having got the information they will still be in a position to compel ISPs to disconnect or throttle alleged offenders without having to go back to the courts.
This is not a concession. The proposals are as wrong-headed as ever. Alleged offenders will still be presumed guilty and have to prove their innocence. Innocent broadband customers will still be caught in the cross fire, accused of wrongdoing when they are in fact simply the victims of Wi-Fi hijacking. The proposals are wrong in principle and they won’t work in practice. Join the campaign against these draconian measures at www.dontdisconnect.us
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