BT and TalkTalk, the telecoms firms, recently failed in their bid to have the Digital Economy Act judicially reviewed, which was brought on the grounds that the Act failed to comply with European law. The firms have now decided to appeal that ruling, arguing that the ruling of the High Court should have considered the anti-piracy steps that Internet service providers must take under the Act.
The Act has been controversial ever since it was passed in early 2010, when it was rushed through Parliament so that it would become law before the General Election. BT and TalkTalk initially took action as they believed the Act did not comply with European Union Directives on e-commerce and privacy, and that it lacked proportionality. They have argued that the law would require them to restrict or suspend a customer’s Internet access even if someone else from outside that customer’s household, for whom the customer was not responsible, was using that customer’s Internet connection for file-sharing.