BT and TalkTalk call for review of Digital Economy Act

ISPs BT and TalkTalk are calling for a judicial review of the Digital Economy Act, saying the proposals to curb illegal file-sharing could harm “basic rights and freedoms”, according to the BBC.

The Act, passed in April, proposes to disconnect repeat illegal file-sharing offenders.

The ISPs believe the act was “rushed through” Parliament before the General Election, and they want the High Court to re-evaluate it before it’s implemented.

In May, regulator Ofcom released proposals to identify online pirates which would see ISPs monitor UK internet users who infringe copyright (nma.co.uk 28 May 2010).

The monitoring was set to target the seven largest fixed-line ISPs with more than 400,000 subscribers, including BT, Orange, O2, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and the Post Office.

However, BT and TakTalk are concerned that the measures will only cause “swathes” of customers to move to smaller ISPs to avoid detection.

This story first appeared on newmediaage.co.uk