ISPs escape further Digital Economy Bill burdens

GaryW

Rosalie Marshall, V3.co.uk, Tuesday 9 March 2010 at 17:30:00
Amendment concerning web filtering to protect children dropped for the time
being
Internet service providers (ISPs) escaped being saddled with further
regulation yesterday when the Digital Economy Bill completed its report stage in
the House of Lords.
The Lords debated issues such as whether ISPs should be made more responsible
for the safety of children on the internet.
Baroness Howe of Idlicote said that ISPs should be obliged to provide
customers with details of how they can filter internet content, and that the
self-regulation approach advanced by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety
(CCIS) is not enough.
The CCIS promotes the British Standards Institute filtering kitemark so that
people considering filtering options can identify reliable technology.
However, the amendment was dropped for the time being because it would mean
increased burdens on ISPs and substantial government expense to ensure
compliance.
The Digital Economy Bill has already proposed two new regulations for ISPs
aimed at reducing illegal downloading.
The so-called 'three strikes' legislation would see culprits kicked off the
internet after multiple attempts to download copyrighted material.
The House of Lords then proposed amendment 120A last week, which would give
copyright holders the power to pressure ISPs into restricting certain web sites
seen to be promoting illegal file sharing.
If the ISP fails to cut off the internet access, the copyright holder can
apply to the courts to force the ISP to comply and the ISP would then be liable
for legal costs. ISPs have protested against both forms of regulation, mainly
because of the costs involved.
Amendment 120A stirred many protests last week, and there had been some
anticipation that the Lords would debate the issue of web site restriction again
yesterday, but there was no mention of the amendment in the discussions.
The Bill will enter its third reading in the House of Lords on Monday for a
final discussion before it goes to the House of Commons.

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