Educationalists want Bill to exempt them from disconnection

Universities, libraries and schools are calling for changes to guarantee they are not cut off or fined because of their students and users:

“Because public institutions often provide internet access to hundreds or thousands of individual users, the complexity of our position in relation to copyright infringements must be taken into consideration. If this is not done, a public institution such as a library, school or university’s internet connection as a whole could be jeopardised, resulting in loss of internet access to large sections of the public, particularly the 15 million citizens without an internet connection at home.

“Our institutions already take rigorous practical measures to ensure that copyright infringement is minimised.

“These measures are highly effective and have been recognised as such by major rights holders. The Bill risks imposing significant financial and administrative burdens on institutions relating to compliance, reporting and dealing with complaints – all of which may not have the desired effect of identifying persistently infringing individuals.”

The situation is exactly parallel for cafés, bars and hotels, as well as community centres: if you are involved in any of these you should make your views known to the front bench teams now. That’s Stephen Timms (at BIS, Lab) Don Foster (DCMS, LD) and Jeremy Hunt (BIS, Con).