The United Kingdom believes it can reduce unlawful file-sharing by 70% to 80% by forcing internet service providers (ISPs) to tell users that their copyright infringement has been noted and making evidence of infringement available to the courts, say lawyers at Pinsent Masons in the firm’s Out-Law.com news service.

In its recently published Digital Britain report, the Government said that most piracy will be wiped out by its plans. ISPs will be expected to produce a code of practice outlining how and when they will inform users of their services that they think the user has been file-sharing unlawfully and how the ISP will share data with the legal system.

If file-sharing is not reduced by its ambitious target, though, the Government said that it will give telecoms regulator Ofcom powers to force ISPs to interfere with the internet connections of suspected file-sharers, Pinsent Masons reported. Those include blocking individual internet connections from accessing certain sites or certain types of content, slowing down connections or placing a cap on a connection's bandwidth.

“These powers should be used if, and only if, the combination of measures set out above has been fully implemented but has not succeeded in significantly reducing the level of unlawful file-sharing,” said the report.

The Government has stopped short of ordering ISPs to cut off users who are found to have unlawfully shared files online, says Pinsent Masons. Record label trade body the BPI accused the Government of ‘digital dithering’ because of its refusal to adopt that policy.

“Evidence shows that the Government’s ‘write and then sue’ approach won't work,” said BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor. “And Government appears to be anticipating its failure by lining up backstop powers for Ofcom to introduce technical measures later. This digital dithering puts thousands of jobs at risk in a creative sector that the government recognises as the driver of the digital economy.”

The Digital Britain report, however, said that its approach would work. “There is evidence that most people who receive a notification stop unlawful file-sharing. This is backed up by survey results which found significant numbers of people say they would stop or significantly reduce their file-sharing activity upon receipt of a notification,” it said.

Pinsent Masons technology lawyer Struan Robertson said that the Government’s approach had common sense on its side.

“Though I would be concerned if the Government was pinning all its hopes on reducing unlawful file-sharing by the very ambitious 70%, I think its first proposals for dealing with the problem are sensible. They at least force all serious action through the existing courts system,” he said. “The powers it will grant Ofcom to force ISPs to interfere with connections could be more of a worry, and there would need to be safeguards in place to ensure that the measures are fair and balanced.”