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Digital Economy Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am sure that we all agree that it is important that internet subscribers receive notice of an alleged infringement as soon as is practically possible. It is important that a subscriber cannot easily use the excuse that they did not receive an initial notification if they subsequently have technical measures imposed on them or a court action is pursued against them. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, that sending notifications by e-mail may in many cases not reach the responsible person. The account may be unchecked, the e-mail may be diverted to spam, and so on. However, it is also important to keep the cost of the notification letters down to a sensible level and to provide ISPs with the flexibility to have contact with their customers in the most effective way. For that reason, we do not entirely support the noble Lord’s suggestion of always notifying by post. Instead, we think use should be made of the internet service provider’s knowledge of its customer. Our amendment would ensure that the internet service provider makes use of the address, electronic or postal, that it knows its customer uses; namely, that to which it sends a bill. This way, it can be sure that the subscriber, rather than a guest issuer, will receive the notification and that the person who might be liable for penalties will receive all initial warnings.