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The Digital Economy Bill currently being considered in the UK will put all blame for pirated downloads on operators of public Internet cafes and even public libraries. Businesses offering public Wi-Fi connections to customers will be entirely responsible for what they download, and may be forced to spy on their customers to see what they're downloading, or to stop offering Internet connections.
The argument for doing this is that if operators of public Internet are not liable, then these places become essentially "pirate havens", places where people will flock to whenever they need to obtain illegal content, although the limited connection speed and the public nature of the place may see that naturally prevented. In any case, lawmakers not wanting to create a loophole in the system want public Internet to be monitored in the same way ISPs will monitor their clients, and this will put an end to many cheap or free public Internet offerings (such as at McDonald's), or force users to provide their contact details prior to using the service, in order to track down suspected pirates.
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The argument for doing this is that if operators of public Internet are not liable, then these places become essentially "pirate havens", places where people will flock to whenever they need to obtain illegal content, although the limited connection speed and the public nature of the place may see that naturally prevented. In any case, lawmakers not wanting to create a loophole in the system want public Internet to be monitored in the same way ISPs will monitor their clients, and this will put an end to many cheap or free public Internet offerings (such as at McDonald's), or force users to provide their contact details prior to using the service, in order to track down suspected pirates.
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