Government proposes punishments for illegal downloaders
August 27, 2009
The U.K. government has announced plans that will prevent internet users from illegally using peer-to-peer file sharing sites. The proposed measures involve blocking repeat offenders from having access to the web.
The creative industries have been putting pressure on the government to do something about internet piracy and the new ideas to be published by the government are an effort to prevent further damage to sectors like the music industry.
Under the new proposals Internet Service Providers would be given the task of monitoring offenders and imposing measures such as blocking a customers access to download sites, reducing the speed of their broadband or suspending their account.
The Secretary of State will direct Ofcom to put into place the technical measures to deal with piracy, the new proposals state.
Stephen Timms, the Minister for Digital Britain said: “Technology and consumer behaviour is fast-changing and it’s important that Ofcom has the flexibility to respond quickly to deal with unlawful file-sharing.”
Previously the government had put in place proposals that would have allowed Ofcom to start dealing with the problem of piracy by 2012, but this was seen by many to be too long a time frame. The new proposals aim to mean action can be taken sooner.
Governments across the globe have been trying to come up with solutions to the problem of internet piracy but many have found it difficult to come up with a simple answer.
Thanks to www.reuters.com for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.
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