Digital Britain's anti-piracy measures are "digital dithering"

16:27 | Tuesday June 16, 2009

The much-anticipated paper suggests a range of measures to cut unlawful activity, such as bandwidth reduction and protocol blocking, as it sets out “the importance of the digital economy to the nation’s economic future”.

Lord Carter outlines the Government’s plans to modernise the UK’s communications infrastructure, including universal access to broadband by 2012; an upgrade programme for digital radio, to be completed by the end of 2015; and – crucially for the music industry – a robust legal and regulatory framework to combat digital piracy.

Key actions to protect creative content include:

• giving Ofcom an explicit duty to significantly reduce unlawful filesharing

• written warnings for those who download unlawfully, with repeat infringers facing identity release and civil action through the courts

• the Technology Strategy Board will lead and coordinate investment in Next Generation Digital Test Beds and has allocated an initial budget of up to £10- million

• a suite of technical measures, such as bandwidth reduction or protocol blocking, for ISPs to use should notification fail to stop unlawful filesharing

• considering the case for a wider cultural tax relief, based on that currently enjoyed by the film industry, for all culturally-specific digital content

However, the measures met with a lukewarm reception from the BPI, which has campaigned for a more rigorous approach to piracy. BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor describes the failure of the Government’s Digital Britain report to speedily implement more effective measures as “digital dithering”.

He says, "It's clear what Government needs to do to boost the digital music market and achieve its stated objective of significantly reducing illegal downloading by 70-80% in two years - that's to act now to require all ISPs to apply a fair system of ‘graduated response’. This would comprise a series of notices followed by technical measures to steer consumers away from illegal filesharing and onto legal online services that reward artists and record labels for their work.

He adds, "Evidence shows that the Government’s ‘write and then sue’ approach won't work. And Government appears to be anticipating its failure by lining up backstop powers for Ofcom to introduce technical measures later. This digital dithering puts thousands of jobs at risk in a creative sector that the government recognises as the driver of the digital economy.”

UK Music chief executive Feargal Sharkey strikes a similarly cautious note and has posited his own organisation’s measures targeted towards reducing filesharing. These are:

1.Warning notice. The ISP will send a letter to the account holder illegally file sharing copyright material

2.Interactive Notification & Web Redirection. The ISP will redirect the account’s web browser to a website which will require the account holder to identify themselves and their responsibility for the account.

3.Should an ISP receive evidence of illegal filesharing on an account for a third occasion, it will send a notification to the account holder that their internet service will be immediately suspended for 72 hours.

4.Evidence of illegal filesharing on an account on a fourth occasion, the ISP will send a notification to the account holder that their internet service will be immediately suspended for one month.

5.With evidence of illegal filesharing for a fifth occasion, the ISP will suspend the account for a period of two months and that a further two month suspension will be implemented if a further infringement occurs.

Sharkey adds, “We are keen to begin the consultation process as soon as possible and open a dialogue with industry partners. As part of this conversation and to set the ball rolling, UK Music has today proposed a series of proportionate measures, targeted specifically towards persistent file sharers, which we believe would help take forward the debate even further. The express aim of these measures is to encourage them to migrate toward licensed music service.s”

On the subject of the upgrade programme for digital radio, RadioCentre chief executive Andrew Harrison notes, “For radio to flourish in the digital age we require a digital strategy and, on first inspection, we are encouraged that Digital Britain sets out a clear roadmap for our industry’s future. Clearly, implementation of that roadmap is now a priority for RadioCentre alongside all the industry stakeholders.

“We think that Digital Britain is right to identify a target date of 2015 to upgrade our sector to digital radio whilst also recognising the importance of meeting key criteria to trigger switchover and the need for intervention to drive the behaviour of manufacturers, the motor industry and other stakeholders. This will enable our members to plan and invest for their future; we now have a firm consensus that digital is the route forward for radio’s future.”

Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw says, “Britain’s digital industries are among the most successful in the world and a major part of our economy. We need to make the right decisions now to make sure they continue to grow and prosper. We need to make the most the most of the opportunities today and in the years to come, exploiting the world’s ongoing technological revolution. This report will be key to our economic growth, social inclusiveness and well-being as a nation."