The Digital Economy Act, a bill rushed through at the end of the last Labour government, has been dealt another blow with a new deal between the internet service providers and the music and film industry.
The voluntary code now means that if someone is downloading illegal content the following will happen;
- An alert will be sent to the ISP about the activity.
- The ISP will write to the customer informing them that their activity is illegal, but no action will be taken.
- If the customer ignores this then a maximum of 3 more alerts will be sent to the customer suggesting ways for them to obtain the content legally.
- If the customer ignores the ISP then no further action will be taken.
Few ever thought making ISPs internet police was a good idea, however this latest idea of asking nicely seems to be based on the premise that most people downloading illegal content would buy it if given the option.
It’s a complex problem, but the idea of relying on the goodwill of people seems somewhat optimistic - discuss.