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Digital Economy Bill [HL]

My Lords, the Bill as currently drafted would allow a great deal of useful consumer information to be included in the notification that an internet service provider sends to its subscriber. This includes information on how to obtain legal access to copyright works and how to protect oneself against wireless hijacking of an internet account. This seems to be a good opportunity also to include information on another major problem and irritant of electronic communications—malware. That is what Amendment 67 seeks to do. As noble Lords will be aware, malware is malicious software designed to load itself into a system without the owner's knowledge. We have already discussed the likelihood that illegal copyright infringement could be committed unwittingly by a subscriber whose computer has been taken over by a virus. Such viruses are frequently very sophisticated, and difficult and expensive to get rid of. There are also many different anti-malware packages sold or given away that add to the confusion of a subscriber who might not be very up-to-date in such matters. Informing subscribers of reputable programs to protect their computers, or ways in which they can check to see if their computers have been infected, would be helpful in preventing genuine copyright infringers from continuing to act while protecting innocent subscribers. I beg to move.