A surprise amendment forced through for controversial clause 17 of the Digital Economy Bill could lead to entire sites being forced offline if it becomes law. This Bill, designed to combat digital copyright infringement, is planned to be hastily pushed through the legislative process before the upcoming election in April. This would see Internet Service Providers being forced to block websites with substantial proportions of copyright infringing content and even provide information to rights holders about persistent offenders. The new amendment removes the highly debated proposed powers for Ministers to make alterations to UK Copyright law and instead intends to give High Court Judges the power to grant injunctions against suspected copyright infringing websites. This could potentially mean entire sites, like YouTube, being forced offline reports the Guardian. This could lead to further legal challenges for institutions providing internet services and using user generated content sites. For the full article, see
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/mar/05/digital-economy-bill-pushed-through