Digital Economy Bill enforces copyright law online

Members of Parliament approved the Digital Economy Bill recently, which will place tougher penalties for unlawful file-sharing for UK web users, according to ZDNet UK.

The legislation allows the country's telecom regulator to work out new penalties, such as bandwidth throttling and website blocking. Violators will first be sent letters that they are suspected of infringement, but if file sharing continues, parliamentarians in both houses would vote to approve the new sanctions proposed by England's business secretary.

Conservative MP Bill Cash told his colleagues in debate that their constituents do not like the website-blocking law.

"It seems to me that, underneath, there is an attempt to stem a tsunami", says Cash. "The number of people who have connected with their MP, with the public at large, on radio and on television, represent a significant core - perhaps even a significantly vast range - of people who simply are not prepared to accept the restrictions that the bill suggests should be imposed on them".

England isn't the only country to have internet users complaining about government web policies. Domain registrar Go Daddy recently left China because of a new policy in the country to require website address applicants to provide a photograph of themselves, along with other personal information.