The U.K. government’s reversal in favor of cutting off suspected ...

which came barely two months after the “largely sensible and pragmatic” measures to deal with infringement in the Digital Britain report. Peter Mandelson, the secretary of state for business, innovation and skills, has apparently “caved in under pressure from powerful lobbyists in the content industry,” the ISP said. Disconnection of those suspected of infringement won’t work, because it’s easy for them to mask their identity or activity to avoid detection, it said. The evidence that’s used to identify offenders is unreliable because of multiple-user subscriber accounts and Wi-Fi hijacking, and many innocent users would be cut off from broadband, TalkTalk said. And pitting ISPs and content providers against each other will prevent cooperative new business models from evolving, it said. Disconnection probably would cause serious problems for ISPs and users of Wi-Fi networks, said Sophos, an information-technology security company. Customers about to be cut off could claim that other computer users have been illegally using their Internet connection to download and share copyrighted material, it said. Technology consultant Graham Cluley asked whether whole companies will be disconnected when unauthorized downloads seem to originate from the workplace. People who illegally download material have no qualms about using someone else’s connection to do it, he said. The government proposal is not only unworkable but also “ridiculous,” Cluley said. It’s also heavy-handed, said a consumer group called Which? It will lobby the government for a rigorous, reliable way to identify illegal file-sharers before action is taken against them. Public Knowledge said it hopes that the U.K. won’t let people be thrown off the Internet based simply on allegations of copyright infringement. That result would violate EU policy and deprive citizens of their rights, a spokesman said. “It would be a shame to sully such a vibrant and competitive ISP market” by giving the providers or the Office of Communications the power to disconnect users without a court finding of wrongdoing, he said.