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Digital Economy Bill [HL]

My Lords, I think that this is incredibly sensible. Lawyers tell me that downloading is not illegal but that illegal downloading is. This is a civil breach of copyright, which is a civil offence and not a criminal one. The usual remedy in civil cases is not to lock someone up but to make them pay compensation as a remedy for the civil harm done. We are not creating any criminal acts in this legislation and, if Clause 17 is passed, the Secretary of State will not be able to introduce any criminal acts in amendments to the legislation. So I think that this is a very sensible way of remedying the situation. It is a bit like pleading guilty. Rather than going through the huge expense of proceedings, the person who is alleged to have committed the offence provides a remedy for the wrong that they have done and it goes to the right place. It is a very positive, sensible and forward-thinking way of dealing with the situation without terminating a lot of people’s internet service. If they are caught red-handed, let them voluntarily—with a little bit of persuasion—provide a remedy to the people harmed. It is not going to the Government or giving anyone an incentive to do anything untoward. It is one of the most positive things that we could put into the Bill.