Following concerns from many industry groups over the proposed punishment for illegal file sharers the government has given reassurance that innocent broadband users will not end up being penalized as a result of the regime.

The punishment that has been proposed by the government for broadband users found to be illegally file sharing has been met with a great deal of opposition and controversy, and amongst the many arguments that have been put forward by the groups, officials, consumers, and campaigners that have opposed the plans is that many innocent broadband users could end up being penalized, because the plan seemed to indicate that the user was guilty until proven innocent.

However, in a recent report the government has denied that any innocent broadband users will be affected by the plans, stating that if the user is innocent then there is nothing to be concerned about. The culture Minister, Sion Simon, recently stated that the proposals of disconnection for illegal file sharers would affect “hardly anybody, other than the most serious and egregious recidivistic offenders.”

Many of those opposing the plans have said that a variety of factors could lead to innocent broadband customers losing their broadband and being unfairly and unjustly disconnected because of something as simple as a mistake or an unsecure WiFi connection that allows others to conduct illegal downloading using the customer’s connection. The Culture Minister stated: “People who have done nothing wrong should not be in any danger of having their internet interfered with at all.”

He added: “Nobody will have their bandwidth squeezed or their account suspended until they have had repeated letters, been given a healthy notice period and then had a right of appeal — indeed, two rights of appeal.”

Source - The Register