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Digital Economy Bill [HL]

I think the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, underestimates himself. His amendments are always worth consideration even if, on occasion, we must agree to differ. He has managed to bring in some very distinguished support for his amendments this evening. I hope the Minister will be able to reassure the Committee that almost every record held against a subscriber in these provisions will fall under the Data Protection Act. The possibility of an internet service provider or a rights holder passing to an unrelated third party information about what infringements it has detected could lead to worrying breaches of privacy. One example is that without the protection of the Data Protection Act, blacklisting would be made much more possible. Internet service providers might decide that a subscriber should not be able to take out a new subscription on account of his past behaviour, without really knowing whether the accusation was justified.