Culture and Law

Heavy fines and loss of internet connection are just two ways you could be penalised if anyone on your computer or network is found to be downloading files that breach copyright regulations. American readers contacted me outraged at what they see as the government limiting our freedom in the UK, following an article on the popular technology website Boingboing about the recent Digital Economy Bill. I promised no more acronyms today so I refuse to call it DEB!

It came as no surprise to me to hear that users can lose internet connection if they illegally share files, or even if anyone in their home or organisation has been doing this without their knowledge. A TV documentary months ago showed how filesharing can easily be tracked, and my own internet provider had decided to cut off connection for anybody doing this. I can’t say I minded and in fact I was pleased. The documentary worried my own teenagers and they have since resisted the temptation to download free versions of expensive software from sites their friends were recommending. No more worries about them secretly getting dodgy downloads that could damage the computer.

What this new bill does show is that you need to be aware of what is being downloaded to your computer or network. I need a top level connection for broadcasting work I’m involved in and only my ISP can provide it, so if we had been found guilty of filesharing it would have been disastrous for my work. This can easily happen due to somebody downloading files without your knowledge, or due to hackers using your network in order to hide their own identity.

If your network is used the penalty will affect you rather than the hacker, and with fines of £50,000 for filesharing, plus the risk of losing internet connection and having websites blocked, these new laws are to be taken seriously. Internet Service Providers who don’t take the necessary steps to investigate and find breaches in copyright can be fined £25,000, so we’re likely to see more action taken against this kind of offence.

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