The Digital Economy Bill and you...

[dutchman]

Who does the new Bill affect?

Everyone who has an internet conenction and is the main bill payer. This includes the owners of bars and cafés who allow internet conenctions to be made on their premises and landlords who rent properties with an internet connection already installed.

How does it work?

Everyone who connects to the internet is allocated an Internet Protocol (IP) number by their Internet Service Provider. The number is usually slightly different for each online session. It is the same number for everyone who uses that connection. When a file is shared over the internet that number is usually visible to anyone else sharing that same file. It is also visible to the company which owns the copyright for that particular work. The owner of any work who claims their copyright has been infringed can ask the relevant Internet Service Provider for the name and address of the person to whom the IP number was allocated at that particular time.

So that proves the person who was allocated the IP number was responsible for sharing the file?

Not in the slightest! Any member of the same household using the same connection will have been allocated the same IP number, even if they are using a completely different PC. If it is an insecure wireless connection then anyone living within range of the receiver could have used the same connection. It is also possible for anyone anywhere in the world to generate a fake IP number which is the same as the person it was originally allocated-to or for a firm of crooked lawyers to generate a list of random IP numbers solely for the purpose of obtaining the names and addresses of account holders.

Surely there are safeguards in the Bill to prevent innocent people from being falsely accused?

There are no safeguards whatsoever. The few ammendments which the House of Lords proposed to protect the innocent were thrown out by the House of Commons even before the election was announced and the Bill rushed through Parliament. Those MPs who voted in favour of the Bill failed to attend any of the debating sessions and in many cases admit to not understanding how the internet works. Many for example believed that allocation of an IP number alone was absolute proof of the identity of a copyright infringer. Under the new rules the person paying the bill for the internet connection is held responsible for any copyright infringement even if it was done entirely without their knowledge or consent.

At least this will be good for the recording industry and the artists they represent?

Hardly. The recording industry has been in terminal decline since the early 1990s, long before most people even had an internet connection. They will now simply blame someone else for their own failures. Hardcore filesharers already have systems in place which conceal their true IP number and so won't be affected in any way.

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