Persistent illegal file-sharers could face a fine of up to
£50,000 as part of the government's
Digital
Economy Bill, outlined in the
Queen's speech.
The bill introduces a raft of measures designed to reduce
illegal file sharing that will be trialled before government
considers
cutting the internet connections of persistent offenders.
Ministers have insisted that cutting off users will be
considered only as a last resort.
All internet service providers (ISPs) will first have to send
out letters to those identified as illegal file-sharers.
Content owners will have to pay a fixed fee, set by Ofcom, to
have that letter sent to the ISP's customer.
If that fails, the secretary of state will have to go to
parliament before the ISPs could be forced to suspend users or take
other technical measures.
That decision will be made only if the lesser measures fail to
reduce unlawful file-sharing by at least 70%.
Stephen Timms, the minister for Digital Britain, said around 90%
of the ISP market supports the policy and new business models are
making file-sharing less attractive.
He confirmed that illegal file-sharing will not be made a
criminal offence. Consequently, there will be no jail terms, only
fines of up to £50,000.
"Better protecting our creative communities from the threat of
online infringement will ensure existing and emerging talent is
rewarded and will bring new choices for online consumers," said
business secretary Peter Mandelson.