05 March 2010 | Author: O. Gaywood Media Optimiser
A new Bill approved in the House of Lords may have drastic consequences for video sharing sites such as YouTube, Vimeo and FootyTube, as well as any other site with material infringing copyright protection.
The Digital Economy Bill had sparked much uproar with leading digital companies - including Google, Yahoo! and Facebook - writing to Peter Mandelson about Clause 17 that would have given future secretaries of state new control over monitoring user data and introducing new technical measures.
This clause was removed but replaced with a late amendment that will allow a high court judge the right to issue an injunction against any site with a "substantial amount" of copyrighted material. With no current definition of how much material adds up to "substantial", this has raised questions over the Bill.
This move goes in a different direction to the mooted 'three strikes' rule. Instead of targeting users who access illegal material and cutting off their internet access, the Digital Economy Bill will aim to remove sites that offer access to material it doesn't have the right to host, thereby limiting the chances users have to come across pirated or illegal work.
The new law means copyright holders should ask websites hosting and linking to the material in question to remove the problematic content. If this is unsuccessful they can contact ISPs to block the site and then, if needs be, go to court to force the ISPs to block the site. This would mean that a site such as YouTube would be unavailable for all users in the UK.
A spokesman for Mandelson's department said: "The law must keep pace with technology, so that the government can act if new ways of seriously infringing copyright develop in the future. However, business will not wake up one morning to a world in which government has taken extensive digital powers."
Some internet users are crying foul and a petition has been set up on the Number 10 website, in relation to censorship and giving the control of the internet to a single minister. On the other hand, many media companies are glad that the copyright they have on their content will be better adhered
House of Lords ruling could block YouTube
A new Bill approved in the House of Lords may have drastic consequences for video sharing sites such as YouTube, Vimeo and FootyTube, as well as any other site with material infringing copyright protection. The Digital Economy Bill had sparked much uproar with leading digital companies - including Google, Yahoo! and Facebook - writing to Peter Mandelson about Clause 17 that would have given future secretaries of state new control over monitoring user data and introducing new technical measures.
This clause was removed but replaced with a late amendment that will allow a high court judge the right to issue an injunction against any site with a "substantial amount" of copyrighted material. With no current definition of how much material adds up to "substantial", this has raised questions over the Bill.
This move goes in a different direction to the mooted 'three strikes' rule. Instead of targeting users who access illegal material and cutting off their internet access, the Digital Economy Bill will aim to remove sites that offer access to material it doesn't have the right to host, thereby limiting the chances users have to come across pirated or illegal work.
The new law means copyright holders should ask websites hosting and linking to the material in question to remove the problematic content. If this is unsuccessful they can contact ISPs to block the site and then, if needs be, go to court to force the ISPs to block the site. This would mean that a site such as YouTube would be unavailable for all users in the UK.
A spokesman for Mandelson's department said: "The law must keep pace with technology, so that the government can act if new ways of seriously infringing copyright develop in the future. However, business will not wake up one morning to a world in which government has taken extensive digital powers."
Some internet users are crying foul and a petition has been set up on the Number 10 website, in relation to censorship and giving the control of the internet to a single minister. On the other hand, many media companies are glad that the copyright they have on their content will be better adhered
English
German/Deutsch
Norwegian/Norsk
Swedish/Svenska
Italian/Italiano
French/Français
Spanish/Español
Latest News
Google introduces Chrome for Android
Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock steps down
Apple warns appayola-using app-makers
Deleted photos live on in Facebook servers
Ofcom caps broadband and phone line prices
Study finds Twitter hard to resist
Apple pulls iPad and iPhones in Germany
Pinterest catches up to social networks with referral traffic
RSS News Feeds
Related Articles
