Mythbusting

There has been some confusion about the measures contained in, and relating to, the Digital Economy Act. Here we set out the facts on some of the most common misunderstandings.

 

There are hardly any legal download sites.

Wrong. In fact, there are plenty of legal download sites and numbers are growing all the time. Sites such as findanyfilm.com and pro-music.org give information about where you can legally download films and music. They include free streaming services such as Spotify and We7 that allow music fans to listen to music for free. Also check out our legal services page which takes you through to the Industry Trust’s website with links to all the legal download sites for films or click here - and for information on legal music whymusicmatters.org is a really useful site.

 

I didn’t mean to go to an illegal site, it was an accident / someone used my internet connection to download illegal content without my knowledge – will I be prosecuted?

No. Technical measures would only be applied to internet account holders who have clearly and repeatedly infringed copyright. Any notices sent under the DEA will be educational in nature and will provide advice on how best to secure your internet connection if you suspect someone of hacking it. You will be able to appeal against each copyright infringement report about you to an appeals body set up by Ofcom.

 

Will popular sites like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter be blocked or shut down by the DEA?

No. Social networks such as YouTube will continue to function as usual because these sites only allow you to share pictures or video that you own the rights to. Only sites such as Pirate Bay, which are predominantly set up to provide illegal access to content on a commercial basis, will be subject to blocking.

 

The Digital Economy Act was rushed through in the dying days of the Labour Government.

Wrong. The DEA is the result of years of extensive consultation, consideration and debate. It takes account of findings in the Gowers Review of intellectual property which was published in 2005. It was the follow-up to the Digital Britain White Paper which was consulted on extensively between autumn 2008 and June 2009. The Act was also debated for 12 full days - more than 50 hours - on the floor of the House of Lords during which time some 700 amendments were tabled.

 

The Digital Economy Act is all about protecting big business.

Wrong. This legislation is about protecting the millions of workers in the creative industries who rely on the success of this sector for their jobs and livelihoods. A rights holder can be anyone from a small-time independent production company, a script writer or individual musician or artist through to a major film studio, book publisher or music company. A recent EU-wide study by TERA Consultants found that by 2015, the cost of online copyright infringement to the UK economy could amount to 254,000 jobs.

 

The measures mean it will be easy to cut off customers’ access to the internet.

Wrong – this will be a last resort measure when every other option has failed. The proposals in the DEA mean that persistent illegal filesharers will receive repeated warning notices with information on where to find material legally online. Only serious, repeat infringers may be subject to court action by rights holders. Furthermore, this, or any other form of technical measure, is not possible without secondary legislation being passed by a vote of both Houses of Parliament.