Music Ally

The UK Culture Secretary confirmed today that the Government is preparing legislation to force Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to apply technical measures on the most persistent file sharers. The full announcement will be made in the Government’s Digital Britain report which will be published later this month.

Government Ministers are often prone to appearing at industry events and delivering the usual bland words of comfort but leaving policy completely alone. But Culture Secretary Andy Burnham’s speech this morning to the Making Online Music Pay conference was unusually clear.

Burnham revealed that there would be a new requirement placed upon ISPs to oblige them to notify identified file sharers. But, more significantly, he also confirmed that the Government is now in the process of drafting legislation to back up this obligation by giving reserve powers to the regulatory body Ofcom. These reserve powers would enable Ofcom to ensure that ISPs then applied technical measures against the most persistent file sharers. Burnham characterised the policy as a ‘graduated response’.

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UK culture minister Andy Burnham says he wants US and European governments to work together on a joined-up strategy to fight online piracy, and to agree on it by Autumn.

He talked up the plan at a parliamentary reception last night, according to the Guardian. “I am working towards an international memorandum of understanding, it is time for much more serious dialogue with European and US partners,” he told the paper. “No solely national solution will work. It can only be durable with international consensus.”

Burnham is targeting a conference in October as the potential announcement of any agreement. What’s more, he also claimed that the UK government is aiming to reduce the volume of illegal downloads by 70-80% with its various measures, some of which were recently outlined in the Digital Britain Report.