Government panders to music industry in copyright debate

Rights groups are outraged by the latest developments

Controversial copyright proposals put forward by the House of Lords that will see certain web sites restricted are exactly the same terms that music industry lobbyists were campaigning for, leaked documents revealed today.

Last week the House of Lords added a new amendment to the Digital Economy Bill, Amendment 120A, that will give copyright holders the power to pressure internet service providers (ISPs) into restricting certain web sites.

If the ISP fails to cut off the internet access, the copyright holder can apply to the courts to force the ISP to comply. The ISP would then be liable for legal costs.

Digital rights groups, ISPs and Liberal Democrat supporters have protested against the amendment, arguing that it has been rushed through without proper consideration and that it gives copyright holding companies too much power.

Prior to this leak, commentators noted their concern that the House of Lords may have pandered to the demands of copyright holders when voting through the amendment because of their lobbying strength.

There have been online protests against the amendment, but the lack of physical presence means that the protestors have exerted less pressure on parliament.

The Digital Rights Group published documents from the BPI today showing that the music industry body has been responsible for the proposals, and pretty much word for word.