Ofcom to review website blocking powers
Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt has asked Ofcom to review whether the plan to block websites accused of illegal file-sharing online could work.
The powers to allow courts to shut down websites sharing copyrighted music and video was one of the most controversial inclusions in the Digital Economy Act, which was hurried through by the Labour government last April.
Despite protests from internet freedom campaigners concerned about censorship, Hunt said he had "no problem" with blocking sites which exist purely for use by illegal downloaders.
Hunt said: "The Government is committed to creating the right conditions for businesses to grow. That includes providing them with the right tools to protect the products of their hard work and investment.
"The Digital Economy Act seeks to protect our creative economy from online copyright infringement, which industry estimates costs them £400 million a year.
"I have no problem with the principle of blocking access to websites used exclusively for facilitating illegal downloading of content.
"But it is not clear whether the site-blocking provisions in the Act could work in practice so I have asked Ofcom to address this question.
"Before we consider introducing site-blocking we need to know whether these measures are possible."