Not enough details about file sharing crack down

It has been claimed that the government has failed to prove enough details with regards to the details of the file sharing crackdown relating to broadband filer sharing.

The topic of broadband users illegally file sharing has caused a great deal of controversy, and the music and entertainment industry have been up in arms with Internet service providers with regards to taking action against those found to be taking part in illegal downloads.

The details of the action that would be taken against illegal file sharers was detailed in the recent Digital Economy Bill, but in a recent report the government has bee urged to provide further details on the action and measures that will be taken against illegal file sharers. Concern has been expressed by the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) with regards to the lack of details about illegal file sharing from the government.

In a recent report the committee wrote: “As we have explained in the past, flexibility is not an appropriate reason for defining a power which engages individual rights without adequate precision to allow for proper parliamentary scrutiny of its proportionality.”

It added: “It would be helpful if the government could clarify whether the imposition of technical measures will be subject only to the initial assessment of the copyright holder that it appeared that the individual service user had breached his or her copyright.” It also said: “In the light of the concerns raised by internet users and human-rights organisations, we recommend that the government provide a further explanation of its views on why these proposals are proportionate, including by outlining the harm currently suffered by individual copyright holders and the wider public interest in promoting creativity, and why that harm cannot be appropriately addressed by existing civil and criminal penalties for copyright infringement.

Source – ZDnet