Government split over enforcing the Digital Economy Act

The Digital Economy Act (DEA) is to be ‘rebooted’ before the summer recess, so that it can be brought into force next January. Digital policy expert James Firth explains how the Act is being brought forward by placing it before the European Commission, a process that was overlooked when the Act was passed during the ‘wash out’ at the end of the last parliament. He also hints at a possible division on this issue within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), suggesting that this new approach is “being driven personally by Jeremy Hunt”.

So it seems. Some of those who were privy to discussions at the DCMS say that Ed Vaizey, the minister tasked with the digitalisation of Britain, insisted that government should not be regulating the Internet. Rather, Vaizey has been seeking an accommodation that would allow Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and users to self-regulate.