Three-strikes petition gets attention of 10 Downing Street. In a sign of just how charged the debate over Internet disconnections has become, the UK Prime Minister's office has weighed in on the matter.
"We will not terminate the accounts of infringers," said a statement from 10 Downing Street. "It is very hard to see how this could be deemed proportionate except in the most extreme—and therefore probably criminal—cases. " House of Lords gives thumbs up to 3 strikes, site takedown. The UK's House of Lords has passed a version of the Digital Economy Bill that eliminated one controversial anti-piracy measure but added a new one in its place.
The bill, which includes a three-strikes provision that will suspend the service of repeat copyright infringers, will now be considered by the Commons. There are promises that a provision that would require ISPs to block access to sites used for infringement will be revised during the process, but the rush to complete work on the law ahead of the UK's coming elections has left a number of advocacy groups feeling that major changes to copyright enforcement are being rushed through Parliament without proper consideration. The Digital Economy Bill was first introduced last November, at which point attention focused on a provision that some claimed would turn the UK's Secretary of state into a "Pirate Finder General.
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