07/09/2009

The heads of the UK’s leading Internet Service Providers have jointly protested Communications Minister Stephen Timm’s recent proposals to summarily disconnect users who indulge in online piracy.

Charles Dunstone of talktalk, Ian Livingston of British Telecom, Tom Alexander of Orange UK along with the Open Rights Group’s Jim Killock, Consumer Focus’ Ed Mayo and consumer activist body Which?’s Deborah Prince outlined their grievances in a letter to The Times newspaper.

Excerpts:

“We agree that the creative industries play an important role in the UK and understand the challenge that illegal filesharing presents. We do not condone or encourage such activity, but we are concerned that the Government’s latest proposals on the “how” to reduce illegal filesharing are misconceived and threaten broadband consumers’ rights and the development of new attractive services.

Consumers must be presumed to be innocent unless proven guilty. We must avoid an extrajudicial “kangaroo court” process where evidence is not tested properly and accused broadband users are denied the right to defend themselves against false accusations. Without these protections innocent customers will suffer. Any penalty must be proportionate.

Disconnecting users from the Internet would place serious limits on their freedom of expression. Usually, constraints to freedom of expression are imposed only as the result of custodial sentences, or incitement to racial hatred, or libel. The proposal that Internet service providers — and by implication broadband customers — should pay most of the cost of these measures to support the creative industries is grossly unfair since the vast majority of consumers do not fileshare illegally.”