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Digital Economy Bill [HL]

I shall speak also to the other amendments in this group, most of which are in my name. The amendment is about not the substance or process of what is covered by Clauses 4 to 16 but the scope. On one level, these are probing amendments, because they seek a view from the Government on why they have changed the terminology used in the Bill from that used in the consultation process. However, there is also anxiety behind them. The original consultation paper on this part of the Bill referred to, ""unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing"." In the impact assessment accompanying the Bill, the same terminology was used. However, the Bill talks about copyright violations. The remedies proposed by the Government, although I do not agree with them in their entirety—as may have become apparent to my noble friend the Minister—are very much geared towards illegal peer-to-peer file-sharing. There are many other forms of copyright violation, some of which may be achieved by electronic means. Therefore, the scope of the clauses seems wider either than the original intention of the Bill or the consultation which led up to it. It would be helpful if the Government explained their change; they may even convince me. However, it takes us into a wider territory of trying to use these measures, which were designed to deal with peer-to-peer file-sharing—that is, from one computer to another—for possibly other, more complicated forms of copyright violation. My noble friend the Minister may say that it is to anticipate changes in technology—we already know that some new forms copyright violation are probably not covered by the original term. However, there are some fairly old forms of copyright violation for which these remedies would seem not to be apparent. This group of amendments is therefore designed to seek clarity on that and to restore the original terminology relating to illegal peer-to-peer file-sharing. To be helpful to the Government if they accept our argument, we have proposed in Amendment 211 a definition of peer-to-peer file-sharing which they may wish to consider. The change that has been made is a little odd, and a number of people on all sides of the argument have wondered why it has been made. It would be helpful at this stage of the Bill for that to be clarified. I beg to move.