The Digital Economy Bill proposals receives a welcome from the music and film industries, but angers ISPs and privacy campaigners, writes The Guardian.

The government’s planned crackdown on unlawful online filesharing has been attacked by privacy campaigners and internet service providers but welcomed by executives and artists in the music business.

Earlier today, the government published the digital economy bill, the result of more than a year’s consultation and debate, which includes plans to send warnings letters to persistent unlawful file-sharers and paves the way for persistent illegal sharers to have their broadband cut off from 2011.

Treasury secretary, Stephen Timms, who is the government minister with responsibility for the bill, said earlier today that his plans to combat unlawful file-sharing were generally supported by the internet service providers, claiming that the major providers of broadband were “pretty supportive of where we have now reached”. His hopes, however, have been dashed with both BT and TalkTalk, two of the UK’s top three ISPs, rubbishing his plans.

Full piece on www.guardian.co.uk