Government considers file-sharing law

The Government is considering legislation to stop people downloading copyrighted music and movies.

Although the UK’s six largest internet service providers (ISPs) have agreed to send letters to customers suspected by the British recording industry's trade association, the BPI, of illegal file sharing, the Government is still considering a regulatory approach.

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) has launched a consultation to find out what would be the most appropriate measures.

It says that although the Government would prefer a fully voluntary approach, this is not feasible and needs regulatory backup.

Despite the agreement between the six ISPs and the BPI, BERR said “some kind of appropriate sanction” is still needed to stop people who persistently share files illegally.

BERR has suggested making it easier and cheaper for rights holders to bring civil actions against offenders. It has also suggested placing an obligation on ISPs to address such activity by using technological solutions such as filters that can help block unlawful downloads.

Communications regulator Ofcom will also be involved in setting up ways to stop repeat offenders. It is likely that codes will address a number of key issues, including standards of evidence, actions against alleged infringers, actions against persistent or criminal infringers, and indemnity and compensation resulting from incorrect allegations of file sharing and routes of appeal for consumers.

An Ofcom representative said: "The Government has asked us to facilitate discussions between the various parties (eg BPI and the ISPs) to achieve agreement on codes of practice on relevant matters, such as how best to deal with repeat infringement. We’re ready to accept this challenging role.

"However, because this work is beyond the remit given to Ofcom by the 2003 Communications Act, the Government will need to introduce the necessary legislation to give us the authority to take on this work.

"Once the codes are in place, Ofcom will not be the enforcer – that will be a matter for the courts. There's not much more to say on this at the moment as it's still very early days."

However, although the BPI is still pushing for a ‘three-strikes’ system, which it has described as "the simplest and most effective way” to cope with the problem, the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) believes the UK Government is distancing itself from such a draconian move.

A ‘three-strikes’ penalty would see persistent file sharers lose their internet service on the third warning. Although this is being introduced in France, ISPA believes it would cause too many problems.

An ISPA representative said: “It doesn’t look as if it is on the Government’s agenda. For a start there are other EU directives this measure would conflict with, such as the Universal Service Directive. This places an obligation on electronic communications providers to ensure there is a minimum set of services to all users.

“We think most people will take notice of the letters but there will be some who do not. If this is the case the regulator Ofcom would probably be involved. "

The representative added that the ISPA would be responding to the consultation.

In April, the European Parliament also rejected calls for file sharers to be barred from the internet.

The BERR consultation closes on 30 October then proposals will be examined with a view to implementing legislation by April 2009.