Government orders clampdown on illegal file sharing

The Government has suggested ways to punish people who persistently illegally copy and share music and films over the internet.

In Lord Carter’s Digital Britain report published this week the Government made it clear it considered this activity to be theft. It now plans to give Ofcom, the telecommunications regulator, powers “to secure a significant reduction in unlawful file sharing".

Ofcom will probably draw up mandatory codes of practice that internet service providers (ISPs) will have to abide by to reduce illegal file sharing by 70-80 per cent within two years.

Ofcom would force ISPs to identify repeat infringers and inform them about the illegality of their actions. However, although the Government has backed off from passing legislation to disconnect offenders, the report has suggested controversial “technical” measures if all else fails.

Lord Carter said Ofcom could enforce technical punishments a year after a written warning has been issued; providing all else has failed.

Andrew Ferguson, co-founder of Thinkbroadband, the independent broadband news and advice site said: “If the first measures have no effect ISPs may be asked to carry out one or more measures, such as port blocking, reducing the infringer’s broadband speed and other technical things to make file sharing enough of a pain that people stop.

"However the question really is will the reduction in file sharing actually lead to an increase in sales [of copyrighted material]?"

Rights holders will continue to be able to take legal action against those most frequently identified as illegally downloading copyright files, although they still require a court order to require ISPs to release the personal data of the most frequently identified infringers.

The Government has now launched a consultation on its piracy proposals, which closes on 15 September.