So, if you indulge in a bit of P2P sharing, like downloading a movie here and sharing a music video there, then you better brace up
yourself for receiving a stern letter from the government. Under the new Digital Economy Act, the government is now readying itself for sending thousands and thousands of letters to IP infringement offenders. If everything goes right, and government is making sure that everything Does go right, the letters will start getting dispatched by the first half of the next year.
The major roadblock in the implementation of the scheme was the objections raised by major ISPs. TalkTalk and BT, two of the largest internet services providers in the country, had asked the Court to grant them permission for filing an appeal against the act. The ISPs claimed that the Act amounts to the infringement of "basic rights and freedoms" of internet users. However, Judge Sir Richard Buxton was not impressed with the companies' stand and thus denied the permission to appeal.
This is not the first setback faced by these companies in this matter. The companies had also lost a judicial review in April this year. However, BT and TalkTalk are not backing down yet. Under the provisions of the Act, ISPs would be required to keep a tab on its users. In case of repeat offenders, ISPs would be required to throttle or terminate their internet connections. ISPs are mainly miffed about the fact that they would be required to absorb 25 percent of "mass notification" costs.