Public urged to complain against "rushed" anti-piracy bill

Controversial legislation put forward in the Digital Economy Bill, including plans to cut off the broadband connection of suspected P2P file-sharers, has been passed through the House of Lords. It's now making its way through the House of Commons where it's expected to be rushed through and made legal before the next general election.

As well as including proposals to provide every home in the UK with the means to access a broadband connection of at least 2Mb, this controversial bill also includes legislation to instigate a three strikes rule whereby repeat offenders could end up being suspended from the net.

There's been a mixed response to this bill, which was originally put forward by Business Secretary Lord Mandelson. Whilst the likes of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) have heralded it as "vital for the future of the UK's creative sector", others, including internet service providers TalkTalk and BT, have expressed concern over its potential to breach the human rights of internet users.

Last week, research conducted by broadband provider TalkTalk found music enthusiasts would simply switch to using undetectable download methods if legislation passed in the Digital Economy Bill made it too risky to rely on peer-to-peer (P2P) services.

Speaking on its progress through the House of Commons, Jim Killock, director of Open Rights Group warned hasty approval of the bill before the election could mean it's not debated in enough detail by MPs. Speaking to the Guardian, he explained: "The problem is that this could now go to the Commons, and because of the budget it could be pushed through to a second reading which will mean it gets debated for a total of an hour." He warned: "It's now too late to do anything about this bill except get rid of it. We are calling on people to complain vociferously about it because the disconnection policies in it are still flawed."

Only a couple of weeks ago, two Liberal Democrat peers managed to make last minute changes to the bill in order to block sites which host copyright material illegally. The Internet Service Provider's Association (ISPA UK) expressed concern over its potentially negligent policies, warning the amendments had be "hastily constructed and rushed through at report stage without due consideration of the implications or consultation with the interested parties that would be affected".

To find out more about the Digital Economy Bill and it's turbulent birth you can read up on all related Broadband Genie news stories, here.

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