Nicola Brittain, Computing, Tuesday 14 September 2010 at 18:03:00
Government has decided to make ISPs pay 25 per cent of the cost of
enforcement
Internet service providers (ISPs) and industry organisations have strongly Andrew Heaney, executive director of strategy and regulation at TalkTalk, He said: ?The Digital Economy Act means many innocent customers will be ?Far from encouraging a more digitally inclusive nation, these measures will Organisations that had fed into the government?s consultation said they were Malcolm Hutty, head of public affairs at the London Internet Exchange, said: Nicholas Lansman, secretary general of the Internet Service Providers? The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) said ISPs and rights The department rejected calls by ISPs and consumer groups for all costs to BT said there was ?no credible basis for ISPs to subsidise copyright owners Orange warned that if ISPs are made to pay, they may be forced to transfer However, the government has now confirmed it will push ahead with its plan. The decision will now be introduced into Parliament as a Statutory Order. The Digital Economy Act, which was rushed through Parliament earlier this The act has been criticised by ISPs and consumer groups as weighted in favour
criticised the UK government?s decision to make ISPs pay towards the costs of
policing the web.
described as ?absolutely outrageous? the government?s decision to make ISPs pay
25 per cent of the cost of enforcement action against web users who infringe
copyright.
falsely accused of filesharing and put on an ?offenders register? though they
have broken no law and now they are being forced to pay for the privilege.
simply alienate web users. Moreover, they don?t tackle the root cause of the
problem ? the creative industry?s failure to adapt its business model to the
21st century.?
disappointed with the outcome.
?We continue to believe that it is only fair the beneficiaries of the Digital
Economy Act ? the copyright holders ? should pay the cost of implementing it. We
are therefore disappointed that the government has decided to charge 25 per cent
of the costs to ISPs, which will ultimately be borne by law-abiding internet
users.?
Association (ISPA), said: "The ISPA has consistently argued for the beneficiary
pays principle and is disappointed with today's announcement. Full cost recovery
for serious law enforcement cases is an established rule and ISPA sees no reason
why it should not be the case here.?
holders in the UK will be expected to share the cost of the notification and
appeals process at a ratio of 25:75 respectively.
fall on copyright owners such as music labels and publishers. Nine ISPs and
associations including Orange, TalkTalk and BT raised their concerns about the
cost proposals as part of BIS?s consultation earlier this year.
through a cost-sharing regime?.
costs to consumers through a pricing increase.
Minister for Communications Ed Vaizey said: ?We expect the measures will benefit
our creative economy by some �200m per year and as rights holders are the main
beneficiaries of the system, we believe our decision on costs is proportionate
to everyone involved.?
ISPs will be expected to comply with the process when Ofcom?s code comes into
effect in the first half of 2011.
year, obliges ISPs to work with rights holders to take measures against
infringers, including cutting off internet access in some cases.
of copyright owners. But copyright owners such as music labels argue they are
losing millions of pounds in revenue every year through infringement.
Full story at http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2269780/isps-attack-government
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