The Digital Economy Act 2010: Why the UK's Graduated Response System to Counter Online Copyright Infringement Should Be Repealed

Abstract

Through providing an overview and critical analysis of the UK’s graduated response system to online copyright infringement, as recently enacted under the Digital Economy Act 2010, this thesis argues that the system is so deeply flawed and fraught with problems that its immediate repeal is entirely warranted. It highlights the many flaws and problems and shows that the approach is not likely to be effective in achieving its aims and that ‘sending a message’ may be the best it can hope to achieve. It further shows that, even if the system does somehow prove to be at all effective, it is nevertheless manifestly unfair to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and subscribers and, as there are also likely to be serious unintended consequences due to its implementation, it should therefore still be repealed.

Keywords: Digital Economy Act 2010, graduated response, three strikes