Date:04/08/11

UK government scraps plans to block Websites

The U.K. government decided on Wednesday to scrap plans to force ISPs to block access to Websites hosting copyright infringing content, after a review by regulator Ofcom found that the rules would be unenforceable.
Blocking Websites was included as part of the Digital Economy Act, which was passed by the previous government ahead of the May 2010 general election in an effort to curb piracy.
However, a report published by the watchdog earlier on Wednesday concluded that despite four feasible methods of restricting access to infringing Websites, all of them could be easily circumvented and would therefore not be effective. Following the report's publication, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced it will not force ISPs to cut off access to infringing Websites. Ofcom's study was carried out in the wake of a report in May by Professor Ian Hargreaves, which called for a rethink on copyright legislation for the digital age. "We have found that the U.K.'s intellectual property framework, especially with regard to copyright, is falling behind what is needed," Hargreaves explained in his report. One U.K. ISP welcomed Wednesday's developments. "We are pleased that the government has decided to drop the Web blocking elements of the Digital Economy Act," a representative for Talk Talk told Total Telecom. "As the Hargreaves report recognised, the act was the result of the weight of lobbying, and we will continue fighting to defend our customers' rights against this ill-judged piece of legislation."
Meanwhile the government porposed plans to charge Internet users £20 to appeal any warning letters they receive from rights holders relating to copyright infringement, after Ofcom's report also revealed it could cost ISPs millions of pounds to process the Copyright Infringement Reports (CIR) that would result from action taken against consumers.
According to Ofcom, if 5% of 1 million CIRs were appealed – and the appeals process was free for consumers - it would cost ISPs £20.7 million to process them all. This cost rises to £400.7 million if 20% of 5 million CIRs are appealed. By charging fees to those that appeal, Ofcom said that these figures would drop substantially. In fact, if the government were to charge just £10 to end users, Ofcom said the cost to ISPs of processing 3% of 5 million CIR appeals would fall to £59.8 million. "If government decides to impose a subscriber appeals fee, we expect it will wish to do so at a level which minimises the risk that those on lower incomes are disproportionately deterred from making legitimate appeals, but at a level high enough to deter frivolous appeals," Ofcom concluded.
The coalition government is currently consulting on how to restructure U.K. copyright law, and plans to release a whitepaper on the issue in 2012.

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