Be Broadband is the latest ISP to publicly distance itself from the Digital Economy Bill and the anti-piracy measures suggested within. Be Broadband is concerned that the proposals are “open to errors,” and that there is a “risk that innocent customers could be penalised.”
Be Broadband lists a number of potential scenarios which highlight the problems posed by the bill.
Internet cafes, pubs and coffee shops which offer Wi-Fi (such as Starbucks) “would find the time or cost burden unworkable.” An entire household of people living in shared accommodation - students for example - could see themselves disconnected over the actions of just one housemate.
A wireless connection could be hijacked if the router was hacked into or left unsecured, allowing a third party to illegally download thousands of files for which the owner would take the rap.
Like many critics of the bill, Be Broadband is worried about the apparent “lack of technical understanding” and points to a more creative approach to combat illegal downloading.
Earlier this year it was suggested that the rise in popularity of sites and applications such as Spotify, YouTube and Last.fm had helped cut illegal downloading over the last two years.
Be Broadband sign off with an emphatic vote of no confidence in the bill. “Our members have never asked us to police their service, and sadly don’t have enough information to believe this system can work.”
Read the original post on the official Be Broadband blog here. The E-petition at petitions.number10.gov.uk, started by Andrew Heaney of TalkTalk has at the time of writing attracted over 25,000 signatures.
Posted by Tom on November 24th 2009 in Be Broadband, Broadband, Next Gen Broadband, Starbucks, TalkTalk
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