The government has confirmed it is considering tough new measures to tackle illegal filesharing, possibly even cutting off the internet connections of repeat offenders.
An amendment has been made to the Digital Britain report, which was originally published in June, in order to give stricter punishments to persistent illegal downloader’s.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson is understood to have personally intervened to make the penalties for internet pirates more severe, reports BBC News.
People who continually download illegal music and film content could have their internet connections cut off, under the new measures.
Initially, the report gave regulator OFCOM until 2012 to decide whether it was necessary to catch illegal downloader’s. However, a statement from the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills released today (August 25) declares that the 2012 date is "too long to wait".
The report states that it should be up to internet service providers (ISPs) to catch and take action against offenders.
However, the Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA) argued that it shouldn't be within their remit to police the internet, stating that it is "disappointed by the proposal to force ISPs to suspend users' accounts".
Welcoming the move, the chief executive of music industry trade body the BPI, Geoff Taylor, said that digital piracy posed "a real threat to the UK's creative industries". "Today is a step forward that should help the legal digital market to grow for consumers," he said.
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