The Government, through its Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, has reaffirmed its promise of putting an end to illegal file sharing within the next four years, and is proposing strict measures to do so.
All offenders will have caps on their usage or will experience lessened speeds of access initially, but on repeated offences, they will have their internet services discontinued. The Department of Business, Skills and Innovation has confirmed the enactment and enforcement of such legislation and it expects the legislation to be in force from April 2010.
The department further states that the initial legislation will have milder punishment methods, which will be followed by a stricter disconnection law if offenders continue with their misuse. This new law is expected to be in force by spring 2011.
Ofcom has been roped in to provide constant monitoring and requisite statistics to enforce punishment.
TalkTalk, a leading internet service provider, in a recent talk on the BBC, has called this move highly impractical and principally wrong. The company has further stated that it will move court in case of any forceful attempt by the government to implement such drastic measures.
Lord Mandelson, defending the new law, stated that warnings will be the first line of action and that the offender will be given at least two chances to correct his or her actions. However, failure to respond to such warnings will result in disconnection.
The cost of implementation of such measures will have to be shared by internet service and content providers.
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