Thanks to 1,400 who replied to Ofcom’s filesharing consultation

Last week we asked activists to tell Ofcom that the their draft code is missing vital standards of evidence and limits our right to appeal. The message was clear: the consultation is broken and Ofcom needs to start over.

By the deadline, five o’clock last Friday, Ofcom received 1,464 responses to the consultation on the filesharing code setting out the letter writing process for alleged copyright infringers. A big thank you to everyone who took action.

In addition, activists sent more than 1,100 emails to MPs voicing concerns about the non-compliance with the Act and asking them to raise the issues with the Minister responsible. That is important because MPs need to be confident that the code complies with the Act when they debate it again in Parliament later this year.

Ofcom’s “initial obligations code” threatens civil liberties because it can put innocent people and their families in danger of being wrongly accused of illegal filesharing. Only a week ago London based law firm Gallant Macmillan caused a storm of complaints as they wrongfully accused people of downloading songs by the Ministry of Sound.

There are severe problems which we highlighted in our response.

For example, the Act requires Ofcom to set standards of evidence in Section 7/124E(2), but Ofcom instead leaves it to the copyright owners to set up a “Quality Assurance” scheme. This process does not specify the means of obtaining the evidence or the standard of evidence.

Ofcom is also obliged to set criteria for the identification of subscribers (Section 7/124E(3) of the Act). Again, they put the ISPs in charge which increases the chances of error.

The contents of the notification letter itself is another area of concern. Subscriber should receive standardised information so that they get the correct information and are clear about their rights to appeal. Ofcom, however, fails to demand this standardisation from ISPs.

Last but not least the appeals process is badly damaged and restrictive.

What can you do now?

Ofcom is due to publish a statement on the code some time in September. We are also waiting for a court date for the judicial review BT and Talk Talk have launched.

In the meantime, sign our petition against disconnection and web blocking. 

Ask your MP to push for repeal of Sections 11-18 of the DEA.