Business secretary Lord Mandelson is pressing for new laws
against downloading and sharing content illegally.
He has sent a letter to Harriet Harman, the leader of the house
and head of the committee that is charge of such legislation,
requesting changes to the 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act.
His request comes as the government prepares to publish the Digital
Economy Bill.
The
Boing Boing blog reported that the changes would give the
business secretary the power to create new punishments for
file-sharing. It is expected that tomorrow's Digital Economy Bill
will contain a "three strikes" policy, whereby internet users will
be
cut off after they receive three warning letters regarding file
sharing.
Another alteration will create new powers to protect rights
holders, such as record companies and music studios. These powers
may be conferred on anyone to help reduce online infringement.
Mandelson will also get the power to demand that internet
service providers help with catching online file sharers.
The letter also mentions that Mandelson is "concerned" about
sites that allow internet users to share large files privately.
The move is likely to attract widespread criticism for being too
draconian. Labour MP Tom Watson has already said on Twitter, "It'll
break the internet. I will not support this and neither should
you."