Illegal Downloads: Guilty By Association?
The UK Court of Appeal has ruled that the hugely controversial UK Digital Economy Act is compatible with European Union legislation. British internet service providers British Telecom (BT) and Talk Talk lost an appeal about those stipulations of the Digital Economy Act that force providers to actively combat copyright infringements. The two internet service providers had argued certain elements of the law are in conflict with EU laws.
The latest ruling clearly shuts another door for BT and Talk Talk and should be seen as a victory for the entertainment and music industry, and those in favour of tackling internet piracy robustly. The judgment could also have political implications. It might force the current UK Government to make a decision: does it fully support the hugely unpopular Digital Economy Act?
The Liberal Democrats, part of the current Coalition Government, have always fiercely opposed the Digital Economy Act, which was introduced under the previous (Labour) Government. So far, the Cameron cabinet has held back to see which approach the courts would take, but now the legal options for businesses to challenge the DEA have become fairly limited, it is likely that the Government will soon have to speak out and has to make clear whether it stands by this piece of legislation.
One the most criticised aspects of the Act is that under the Digital Economy Act, ISPs are forced to send warning letters to users who have allegedly downloaded illegal files. If warnings are ignored, ISPs will potentially cut users off. With the latest ruling, the prospect of providers sending letters has come one step closer. According to one of our editorial board members ‘first notifications could be arriving in subscriber’s inboxes in just over a year.’
Many industry experts also think that under the Act internet users are ‘presumed guilty by association’, since the Act will force users to take greater responsibility for monitoring activity in their own homes. After all, the data that will be collected by providers – to establish a list of infringers – is linked to IP addresses, not to individuals. So the latest ruling means it has become more likely that parents, couples, housemates and others who share a computer will have to watch each other closely: who is downloading illegal content?
Author: Michiel Willems
Dutchman Michiel Willems LLM MA is based in central London as an international journalist in broadcast and print, specialised in UK current affairs, e-commerce, finance, business and legal news.
Michiel studied law and journalism in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom and after gaining experience in Malaysia and India he returned to London in 2008 to embark on a career in writing and reporting.
With global study and work experience and an open mind, he currently works in central London as an associate editor, writer, voice over professional and radio reporter. Michiel has developed a great interest in the facts behind the headlines, the stories behind the statistics and the people behind the news.
His specialties are writing news stories, features, editorial comments, catchy standfirsts, drop quotes, captions, headers and headlines, commissioning, editing, conducting interviews, managing publications’ flatplans, radio reporting and gathering large amounts of information within a relatively small amount of time.
Michiel usually approaches a story from an original, relevant angle and likes to come up with fresh ideas for news stories and in-depth features. He speaks to a wide number of sources across the political, financial, business, legal and e-commerce sectors on a daily basis. Michiel has a broad network of contacts, in the UK as well as overseas, mainly consisting of bankers, lawyers, lobbyists, consultants, entrepreneurs, payment processors, regulators, trade associations, policymakers and politicians.
