And it won't work, the serious filesharers will move onto throwaway 3G dongles using encryption, and how are they going to cut off the internet with one of those?

...or a VPN. Easy!

What about that German whom got fined for leaving his wireless unprotected and switched on when he went on holiday for a week, to come back to find some crim had downloaded stuff using the connection?

 

Digital Economy Bill minister stabbed

 

Stephen Timms, the Labour MP and former minister who was responsible for guiding the Digital Economy Bill through Parliament, was stabbed today in his East Ham constituency.

 

The 54-year-old is currently in hospital and a 21-year-old woman is in police custody and being assessed by mental health specialists. Timms was attacked at 3.20pm this afternoon at his constituency surgery, police said. His condition is not thought to be life-threatening.

 

Before going into politics, Timms worked for Logica and as a telecoms analyst for Ovum. He was re-elected last week with a majority of almost 28,000, up from about 21,000.

 

A young woman appeared in court yesterday accused of attempting to kill her MP, Labour's Stephen Timms. Roshonara Choudhary, 21, showed no emotion as she heard the prosecution outline the charges. She is alleged to have knifed him at his constituency surgery in Newham, East London, on Friday. Magistrates heard she made an appointment to see him and took along two kitchen knives. As she put out her left hand to shake his, she is alleged to have pulled a blade from her bag with her right hand and stabbed him twice.

 

 

http://www.theregister.co.uk

So that's what Nathan's been up to.

I wonder if Mr Timms will learn his lesson, that when you threaten other people for their peaceful activities, you're not very well-liked?

 

UK illegal downloaders' details to be stored on official list

 

Ofcom outlines new proposals to tackle copyright infringement

 

People who infringe copyright through illegal downloading in the UK are set to have their names stored on lists under new proposals from communications regulator Ofcom.

 

The measure, announced today (May 28), is part of Ofcom's proposed code of practice as part of the Digital Economy Act 2010.

 

The proposed code would only affect the largest Internet Service Providers (ISPs): BT, Talk Talk, Virgin Media, Sky, Orange, O2 and Post Office, though they could be applied to smaller ISPs and across formats including mobile downloads in the future.

 

Under the code ISPs would have to compile lists of serial copyright infringers. Copyright holders, such as record companies, would be able to ask for access to the lists to take legal action against them.

 

A three-stage process for copyright infringers has been outlined, with users who receive three notifications of copyright infringement in a year being placed on a list requested by the copyright owner.

 

http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/51284

:santa: Santa had requested a copy of the list. Now you are all getting coal for Christmas!

 

Net providers get Digital Economy Act judicial review

 

TalkTalk and BT have been granted judicial review of the Digital Economy Act by the High Court.

 

A judge will now scrutinise whether the act is legal and justifiable, and could make wide-ranging recommendations. BT and TalkTalk argued that the legislation had been "rushed through parliament" before the election.

 

Internet service providers (ISPs) are unhappy with the part of the act that requires them to take action against suspected illegal file-sharers. Depending on the judge's ruling, the government may be forced to change or even scrap the legislation.

 

Andrew Heaney, director of strategy and regulation at TalkTalk said he was "very pleased" that the High Court had recognised the concerns of ISPs.

 

"The act was rushed through parliament in the 'wash-up' with only 6% of MPs attending the brief debate and has very serious flaws," he said. During the parliamentary debate about the Digital Economy bill, held in the final days before the parliament was dissolved before May's general election, some MPs complained that it needed more debate because of its complex nature.

 

"The provisions to try and reduce illegal file-sharing are unfair, won't work and will potentially result in millions of innocent customers who have broken no law suffering and having their privacy invaded," said Mr Heaney. He called on the government to put the legislation "on hold" pending the enquiry. A judge will conduct a full review in February, considering whether the parts of the act that deal with illegal file-sharing are in breach of the e-commerce directive, which rules that ISPs cannot be held liable for traffic on their networks. The act will also be measured against EU privacy and technical standards legislation.

 

One of the most controversial elements of the law relates to tougher penalties for people who download music, films and other content without paying. ISPs will be required to send letters to people identified as net pirates, with persistent offenders being added to a blacklist. The BPI, which represents the UK music industry, has been campaigning for action to tackle online copyright infringement.

 

"It's disappointing that a couple of ISPs are trying to frustrate this and resist any action being taken to reduce illegal file-sharing on their networks," said a BPI spokesman. "We continue to believe that their case is misconceived and will fail. The act remains in full force and we will continue to work with government, Ofcom and other stakeholders to implement it," he added. Ofcom has been working on a final code of practice for how the process of monitoring file-sharing will work in the UK. It has the power to slow down the net connections of persistent pirates or even cut them off completely, although such measures would not come into force until at least 2012.

 

A caveat added at the last minute stipulated that new legislation and several rounds of consultation would be required before such a course of action was taken. A spokeswoman for the regulator said it was "business as usual" as far as the code of practice was concerned. The regulator is expected to publish its final code later this week. Last month the High Court in Ireland ruled that laws cutting off internet users who have illegally downloaded content cannot be enforced in the country.

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11724760

They can't stop kiddie porn being shared, how are they going to stop music sharing?

 

Oh wait, I forgot music sharing is costing the record companies money

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is the most popular download on torrent site The Pirate Bay.

 

BT and TalkTalk to appeal Digital Economy Act

 

BT and TalkTalk will launch a fresh challenge against the controversial Digital Economy Act. The companies have been granted permission to appeal against a High Court ruling that upheld most of the anti-piracy law.

 

Like many service providers, they believe that the law unfairly compels them to police users' behaviour. The government has said it wants to protect the creative industries such as music and film making. The Digital Economy Act had been subject to an ongoing legal challenge since it was passed during the wash up period before the last general election.

 

Creative industries have expressed dismay and the latest ruling. John McVay, chief executive of production body PACT, responded on behalf of music, TV and film companies. "Naturally, we are disappointed at this further delay. However, we respect the decision and are pleased that the appeal hearing will be fast tracked because, in the meantime, online piracy continues to wreak havoc on the legitimate market, threatening jobs and livelihoods," said Mr McVay.

 

Under the provisions of the Digital Economy Act, ISPs would be compelled to send out warning letters, at the behest of rights holders such as film and record companies, warning about illegal downloading.

 

The act also allows for sanctions, known as "technical measures", which could include disconnection. However, the exact nature of technical measures and the circumstances under which they could be imposed are not explicitly laid out in the law.

 

Two of the UK's largest ISPs, BT and Talk Talk, have been leading the counter-attack against the law. Together, they secured a judicial review, only to have most of their objections dismissed. The only aspect of the companies' complaint to be upheld involved who covered the cost of checking rights holders' claims and sending out enforcement letters.

 

At the same time, political machinations around the Digital Economy Act have continued. The Liberal Democrats voted, at their party conference in September, to repeal large parts of the legislation.

 

Julian Huppert MP, chairman of the party's Technology Policy Working Group said: "Tackling piracy is important, but it shouldn't be seen as an end in itself. It's more important to create conditions that reward innovation and talent, and ensure that creators get the benefits of their work. "The Digital Economy Act fails to do that; worse, it sorely lacks a convincing evidence base and real democratic legitimacy."

 

The government has also dropped plans to block access to websites which host copyright infringing material, despite the act giving them powers to do so. Instead, it is likely that rights holders will be encouraged to take action against ISPs themselves using different laws. In July, BT was ordered to block the website Newzbin2 because it provided links to pirated films. That case was brought under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, rather than the Digital Economy Act.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15212651

The system of using IP addresses to identify downloaders is flawed. It's easy to mask IP addresses and to insert fake IP addresses in the logs.

 

"Dear Mr Lexmark Network Printer, you have been caught downloading MK by Coldplay, pay up"

UK 'pirates' face £20 appeal fee

 

Users face punishment if they receive three copyright infringement letters within a year

 

UK 'pirates' face £20 appeal fee

 

Suspected internet pirates will have 20 working days to appeal against allegations of copyright infringement and must pay £20 to do so, according to revised plans to enforce the UK's Digital Economy Act.

 

The details are contained in secondary legislation presented to Parliament and a draft code published by Ofcom. The telecoms regulator said it expected the scheme to begin in 2014. Campaigners oppose the fee saying users should be innocent until proven guilty.

 

The Creative Industries Minister, Ed Vaizey, said: "We must ensure our creative industries can protect their investment. They have the right to charge people to access their content if they wish, whether in the physical world or on the internet."

 

Under the plans users suspected of accessing or uploading illegally copied files will be sent letters from their internet service provider (ISP), delivered at least one month apart, informing them they are suspected of copyright infringement.

 

The messages will also contain information about where to find licensed material online. Copyright owners can request details about all the accusations made against any account-holder who receives three or more letters within a 12-month period, but the user's name will not be revealed at this stage. Rights holders wishing to chase a suspected pirate must seek a court order requiring the ISP to hand over the details.

 

Ofcom said this additional step was designed to encourage efforts to be focused "on the most persistent alleged infringers".

 

Accused users who wish to appeal against the claims outlined in any letter must pay £20 to do so, but the revised code says only grounds specified in the act will be considered. Campaign group Consumer Focus chief executive Mike O'Connor said: "Copyright infringement is not to be condoned, but people who are innocent should not have to pay a fee to challenge accusations. Twenty pounds may sound like a small sum, but it could deter those living on low-incomes from challenging unfair allegations."

 

He added the best way to reduce unnecessary appeals was for Ofcom to require a high standard of evidence from copyright holders to avoid notifications being sent out on the basis of "flimsy evidence".

 

Ofcom noted its revised code stated rights holders would only be able to gather evidence using measures approved by the regulator. ISPs - who must also contribute to the cost of running the scheme - will ultimately be required to take steps against repeat offenders such as limiting their broadband speed or suspending their accounts.

 

However, Ofcom noted this would require further legislation that could only be considered after the letter scheme had been in force for a year. Even so, members of the Creative Coalition Campaign, welcomed the latest step towards implementing the copyright crackdown.

 

"We urge ISPs to begin building their systems now and to work constructively with rights holders, Ofcom and government to get notice-sending up and running as soon as possible," said John Smith, general secretary of the Musicians' Union.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18594105

It will probably cost every household in the UK £20 a year as the ISPs increase their prices to cover the added work policing the interweb.

 

Just look at the phone companies, the EU makes them cut their rates when in the EU and they respond by charging for previously freebies (voicemail)