U.K. Approves Crackdown on Internet Pirates; New York Times, 4/8/10

Eric Pfanner, New York Times; U.K. Approves Crackdown on Internet Pirates:

"The British Parliament on Thursday approved plans to crack down on digital media piracy by authorizing the suspension of repeat offenders’ Internet connections.

Following the House of Commons late Wednesday, the House of Lords on Thursday approved the bill after heavy lobbying from the music and movie industries, which say they suffer huge losses from unauthorized copying over the Internet.

The law makes Britain the second large European country, after France, to approve a so-called graduated response system, under which online copyright violators face temporary suspensions of their Internet accounts if they ignore warning letters to stop.

“The U.K. has today joined the ranks of those countries who have taken decisive and well-considered steps to address the issue,” John Kennedy, chief executive of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, said in a statement. “We hope this will prompt more focus and urgency for similar measures in other countries where debate is under way.”

The anti-piracy plan is part of a broader bill aimed at stimulating the development of the digital economy in Britain."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/technology/09piracy.html?hpw