One of the most controversial clauses in the UK’s Digital Economy Bill is Clause 18 – the one about rightsholders getting injunctions to force ISPs to block websites accused of widespread copyright infringement. The government has now published a replacement Clause 18 addressing some of the fears about the potential impact. Courts will now have to consider the effect on legitimate uses and users of sites before granting an injunction – i.e. something like YouTube should now be safe. Meanwhile, ISPs won’t have to pay court costs, which should lessen the likelihood that they’ll agree to block sites without a proper court hearing. Source: Digital Britain Blog Mandelson letter explaining the changes (PDF)
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