UK culture minister calls for agreement on downloading

UK secretary of state for culture, media and sport Andy Burnham has called for international agreement on tackling illegal downloading of audiovisual content.

Burnham, speaking to journalists ahead of the June 16 publication of broadcasting minister Stephen Carter’s Digital Britain report, ruled out criminalising downloaders, but said that new rules were in the pipeline to protect the creative industries.

Separately, a lobby group backed by the British Video Association, the Federation Against Copyright Theft and some studios has called for the introduction of speed restrictions being placed on people who illegally share rights-protected material as an alternative to taking legal action against them. Respect for Film said that technological measures analogous to “road humps” to prevent speeding could be introduced, according to a report in The Guardian.