---

Digital Economy Bill [HL]

We touched upon this issue in an earlier debate on the legal protections that internet service providers need when responding to a copyright infringement report. It is important that ISPs have the confidence to start the process detailed in the Bill without any risk that such measures will result in legal action from their subscribers. The amendment would take this issue one step further. An ISP needs to be reassured that taking the actions that are proscribed under the Bill will not convey actual knowledge of any unlawful activity. It is clear that ISPs have a role to play in tackling internet piracy and in other far more important areas such as child protection and measures to tackle internet pornography. However, it is important to recognise that unless ISPs are given the type of protection that the amendment would provide, they might in some cases end up being actively deterred from helping to tackle illegal peer-to-peer file-sharing. If notifying an alleged copyright infringer can be taken as evidence of knowledge of unlawful activity, this may open up ISPs to legal action. If so, ISPs simply will not give notice of infringements, and will therefore be between a rock and a hard place because they will have either failed in their duty to send notification or, if they have sent notification, prejudiced their defence of no knowledge. There is a danger that, unless ISPs have this assurance, the whole process which the Government are trying to establish will simply fail to function. I beg to move.