Wednesday, March 17, 2010:
The controversial Digital Economy Bill, which has caused dismay in technology circles has finally been approved by the House of Lords. The power to effect changes on its many unpopular clauses will now rest with the House of Commons. The controversy stems from laws that govern suspension of repeat filesharers’ Internet connections; the fact that should a Website be found guilty of copyright infringement, it could be shut down.
|
|
This latest amendment, which was okayed by the House of Lords by 165 votes to 140 at the start of this month, bodes ill for Websites such as YouTube, which has, in the past, drawn flak by record labels and media companies for uploading unsanctioned videos of their artists or TV shows, says The Telegraph.
Among those disappointed with the proposed changes to the Digital Economy Bill, is Jim Killock, executive director, Open Rights Group, who said many sites could shut shop fearing expensive legal action.
"This would open the door to a massive imbalance of power in favour of large copyright holding companies," he warned. "Individuals and small businesses would be open to massive 'copyright attacks' that could shut them down, just by the threat of action."
Ashish Joshi, EFYTIMES News Network
|