UK Anti-FileSharing Letters Delayed Until 2014

[Guest Evilblade]

The implementation of the UK’s controversial anti-piracy legislation, the Digital Economy Act, has been delayed again.

The confirmation, which was delivered yesterday by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, means that UK Internet users suspected of engaging in unlawful file-sharing won’t see any warning letters for nearly 2 years, or more.

“We expect the first warning letters to go out in early 2014,” a DCMS spokesman told ZDNet UK. “This is due to the rulings in the judicial review of the DEA. The court ruled in the government’s favour in both the judicial review and the appeal court; however it ruled against small parts of the cost sharing.

“Therefore the Cost Sharing Statutory Instrument will need to be changed, and as a result Ofcom will need to change their code. Both will be published when they are ready.”

A spokesman for the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) told the BBC that they were welcoming the delay since the legislation is not “particularly good” and there are better alternatives for dealing with piracy.

“There’s more than just the Digital Economy Act when it comes to tackling copyright infringement online,” he said.

“Ispa continues to believe that the most effective solution to the problem of users accessing unlawful content is for reform of the licensing framework so that legal content can be distributed online in a way that consumers are demanding.”