By Aine Gormley
The Digital Economy Act (DEA), which will come into effect over the next 12 months, will make the targeting of internet users who breach copyright laws more likely. But flaws in technology that allow criminals to hijack Internet connections may wrongly force service suspensions and fines on innocent users.
Currently, it is the copyright holders who must uncover the identity of those who breach their copyrights. If a user offers a song or film for free, through peer-to-peer file sharing, the unique address of their Internet connection, or Internet provider (IP) address, is visible. The copyright holders then have to obtain a court order for the Internet service provider (ISP) to identify the customer.
Under the DEA, an ISP must issue warning letters to suspected infringers, suspend Internet connection to repeat infringers, and may be criminally liable to a maximum of £50,000.
BitTorrent, one of the most common peer-to-peer file sharing protocols, said: “As a result [of the DEA] everybody will have to stop online sharing, providing the entertainment industry with the possibility to net billions.”
Andrew Heaney, telecommunications provider TalkTalk’s director of strategy, said: “What the Digital Economy Bill proposes is to place a burden of responsibility on the person owning the internet connection.”
Despite the fact that often more than one person uses the same IP address; the most computer savvy copyright thieves can cover their tracks by hijacking other connections. This has wrongly identified hundreds of people, according to Deborah Prince, the head of Legal Affairs at Which?, a consumer advocacy organisation.
File sharing has become a serious problem for the music and film industry. The new act will ensure the ISP takes responsibility to stop copyright theft, and aims to stimulate the UK’s digital economy. Thus 189 out of 236 MPs passed the bill on 8 April .
It has been dubbed as the right idea, but wrong approach. “You have to prove it wasn’t you who pirated that film, otherwise you risk being disconnected,” Heaney told the Guardian.
Prince added, “We urge the estimated five million people in the UK who have unsecured wireless networks to secure their connections immediately. This will stop them from being wrongly blamed for any illegal activity.”
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