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The Digital Economy Bill became law on 7^th April 2010 after the House of Commons approved its passing by a majority of 142.   Under the terms of the Bill, regulatory body Ofcom was given the power to block websites suspected of piracy.   Internet Service Providers (ISPs) were also legally bound to suspend the accounts of persistent downloaders of illegal content after a ‘three strikes’ warning system.  Failure to do so could result in a fine of up to £250,000 being imposed upon them.   The new law also gave copyright holders the right to apply for a court order to obtain the names and addresses of persistent offenders and to prosecute them for copyright theft.

The hasty passing of the Bill just weeks before a general election was criticised by many, and Google, who, together with other high-profile sites such as YouTube, were theoretically in danger of being blocked, vocally opposed it, claiming no proper scrutiny was carried out before the Bill was made law.   A spokesman for the internet giant said, ‘We absolutely believe in the importance of copyright, but blocking through injunction creates a high risk that legal content gets mistakenly blocked, or that people abuse the system.’

Culture secretary Ben Bradshaw said, ‘Hundreds of millions of pounds every year is currently haemorrhaging from our creative industries because of unlawful file-sharing. This is not a harmless or victimless activity. It deprives our musicians, writers and filmmakers and other artists of their livelihoods and if we don't do something about it, it will pose a serious threat to our creative sectors and Britain's role in them.’

Many people were concerned that those who had rushed the Bill through parliament had failed to consider the potential implications.   Households and businesses could be blocked from internet access if accused of copyright infringement or illegal downloading.   There was also concern over the limited rights of appeal and the possible infringement of basic human rights.

According to some reports, as many as 64% of MPs were absent for the vote, and 187 ‘strolled in at the end without bothering to listen to the debate.’

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