British Digital Economy Bill, net neutrality ruling a sign of tightening IP enforcement?

Two news stories from last week may provide a peek into the future of the way government and corporations deal generally with content on the Internet and more specifically with copyrighted material.

First, last week's ruling by a Federal circuit court that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) does not have the right to regulate the way Internet Service Providers (ISP) control their networks. The FCC had asserted that an ISP could not restrict or prioritize access to networks based on a users' use of bandwidth; the court ruled that the ISPs can manage their networks without FCC oversight. At issue here is what pundits have named net neutrality, which describes a hands-off approach to Internet regulation that has thus far been favored by the Federal government. A question raised by this ruling is whether ISPs might identify and restrict users who download copyrighted materials. Follow the link for a discussion about the ruling on KQED's Forum.

Across the Atlantic, the British government pushed through legislation that will open the door to tracking and restricting Internet users who illegally download copyright-protected materials. Under the legislation, British telecommunications regulator Ofcom would pursue measures to reduce bandwidth or suspend access to the Internet for copyright scofflaws, should illegal downloads not drop by at least 70% over the next year. BBC News has put together an informative FAQ about the controversial legislation.