Once again, the Government has attempted to address one of the big issues of the modern world and got it totally wrong. The debate on ‘file sharing’, which is often used as a short hand term for the illegal downloading of music, films and other creative content, has rumbled on for many years. Artists have long been up in arms about the practice, which has hit the revenue stream of the music industry and music shops particularly hard. After all, why go to the high street and spend your hard earned cash on a Pink Floyd album (I recommend Dark Side of the Moon – a classic), when you can go online and download it for free?

The answer to this conundrum surely lies in more up to date copyright laws, better enforcement of downloading sites, or a more flexible approach by the music industry to charging for online downloads. Instead, the government has proposed to disconnect, or ‘throttle’, those who overindulge in illegal downloading, without a proper judicial investigation and verdict. There are two major flaws to this. Firstly, enforcing this proposal is totally impossible, as the more savvy downloaders have a vast array of technological wizardry at their command to dodge a disconnect. The less savvy among them can simply continue downloading on another internet connection. Furthermore, these proposals again highlight this government’s authoritarian, anti-civil liberties streak. Disconnecting an internet user without a proper trial is plainly wrong. Even with a trial, blocking a household’s internet connection may deprive totally innocent friends or family members from online access.  

Lord Mandelson's ideas to tackle this are a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

For these reasons I have co-sponsored a cross-party Parliamentary Motion opposing the above proposals, and will continue to look for a more effective solution to the illegal downloading problem.