The Open Rights Group and Consumer Focus have warned that the cost of tackling unlawful internet copyright file sharing (p2p) by UK ISP users could force the price we all pay for our broadband services to rise. The Digital Economy Act (DEA) requires internet providers to shoulder "a substantial part of the cost" for notifying customers suspected of breaking the law, which could be passed on to end-users.

The new powers also mean consumers will be presumed guilty of breaking the law if a rights holder believes that they have infringed their copyright. People would even have to pay part of the cost of defending themselves against potentially inaccurate accusations of copyright infringement.

In its response to the Department for Business’ (BIS) consultation (closes today) on how the new laws will be paid for, Consumer Focus says that it should be copyright owners, such as film and music producers, who pay the bulk of the cost towards enforcing the laws and consumer appeals.



The precise details of how any costs will be apportioned is currently still being thrashed out, although we should know more within the next few days or weeks. Rights Holders have frequently attempted to portray ISPs as getting rich off copyright infringement, though anybody familiar with the industry knows that this is simply untrue and not how ISPs work.