So what is it?
From Digital Economy Act Info
It's a set of proposals designed to promote "Digital Britain", which became an act of parliament (law) in April 2010.
Contrary to popular belief, the Act covers many more areas than copyright infringement online, although that was the area that received the most media attention in the final days of the proposed bill becoming an act.
The areas of the Act most likely to affect everyday internet users concern technical measures that can be brought against:
- internet subscribers who are accused of allowing their internet connections to be used for copyright infringement (both home users and people who offer services such as public wifi); and
- people who run online service such as websites that are believed to be used in conjunction with copyright infringement.
One of the major changes is to your liability when subscribing or paying for internet access which others may use (including at home).
Existing copyright law meant that the copyright holder had to bring charges against the person actually committing the infringement. This had to go through the normal legal process, and the copyright holder had to prove that the accused had infringed.
Under the Digital Economy Act, the liability falls upon the person providing access to the internet. If someone downloads or uploads something over your connection that a copyright holder believes infringes upon their rights, then you are personally liable. The copyright holder does not have to prove that an infringement has occurred; it is enough to make the accusation. To appeal this accusation, you may have to pay legal fees to prove your innocence.
Aside from the guilty-before-proven-innocent aspect to this, there are significant technological issues that will mean that many more people will be liable than are actually infringing. See Ways another user can look like you for more information.
