BT expresses concern over Digital Economy Bill

Since the controversial Digital Economy Bill was passed into law last week ISPs have spoken out about their concerns, and the latest ISP to speak out against the Bill is the communications and broadband giant BT.

Last week many consumers, campaign groups, and Internet service providers were shocked to find that the controversial Digital Economy Bill had been rushed through the House of Lords in the Labour government’s wash up period in the run up to the election. The Bill was passed into law last week, and since then a number of Internet Providers have spoken out about their concerns.

Talk Talk, which has always fiercely opposed the Digital Economy Bill, expressed its disappointment following the Bill being passed into law, and said that although the Bill had been passed it would continue to fight against certain parts of the Bill. Now another major Internet provider has spoken out about its concerns about the new law, which received Royal Assent last week.

The new law will force Internet service providers to cut the connections of broadband users that are thought to have been engaged in illegal file sharing, but like other providers BT broadband has expressed concern that innocent people will end up being affected by the new regulations.

ISPs are concerned that in some cases broadband users may end up losing their connections because their children are illegally downloading files without their knowledge, and in other cases people with unsecured wireless connections could end up being penalised because someone else has illegally downloaded content using their connection without their knowledge.

An official from BT stated: “Our priority is to ensure our customers are treated fairly and appropriately. We remain concerned about customers having access to a fair process, rather than being presumed guilty on accusation. We will continue to work to minimise the potential negative consequences for our customers.”

Source – Scotland On Sunday