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Digital Economy Bill [HL]

My Lords, Amendment 12 is much more straightforward and I hope that the Government will be prepared to accept it. At some stage during the Bill it was determined that not only should the ISP share the cost with the digital rights owners, but also, in certain circumstances, the subscriber should. I can conceive of situations in which this would be legitimate and in which the subscriber’s behaviour could lead to them sharing the costs. However, in general it is not legitimate. It is certainly not fair and it is not due process that the subscriber should be charged the cost of what is, effectively, the digital rights owners trying to pursue their rights. My amendment would not delete the possibility of the subscriber being asked to meet part of the cost, but it would mean that the imposition of that cost would not inhibit the subscriber from taking forward an appeal against the sanction. In other words, the share of the cost imposed by the tribunal should be assessed in terms of its economic and social impact on the subscriber and whether or not their potential share would prevent them from taking this further and being able to make an appeal. As the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, said, this is not subject to legal aid, so the cost of an appeal is a very relevant consideration. If this imposition of cost inhibits people from taking their right to appeal, that is a very dangerous road to go down. This does not alter anything else that the Government have in the Bill; it would simply protect more vulnerable consumers from the imposition of costs. In that respect, I would have thought that the Government could accept it. I beg to move.