Lord Mandelson and the date with file-sharing

Throw your diamonds up! Peter Mandelson there, invariably incurring the wrath of conspiracy theorists the world over... anyway, Lord Mandy has made an announcement which will no doubt see file-sharers shrugging with ambivalence or indeed, writing furious Facebook notes about it...

Basically, Peter Mandelson has outlined the details of anti file-sharing legislation which will come into play at some point in the not so distant future.

In short, illegal downloaders could get their internet connections cut off.

The Business Secretary, speaking at the digital creative industries conference c&binet, said that if the amount of illegal file-sharing taking place in the UK hadn't dropped by 70 per cent a year on from April 2010 measures to cut off file-sharers' connections would come into place from July 2011.

Mandelson said that connections would be cut off as a "last resort" and that there would be a "three strikes" policy, with offenders receiving letters of increasing severity, reports the Guardian.

He said that he does not expect to see a large amount of internet cut-offs. "Technical measures will be a last resort and I have no expectation of mass suspensions resulting. It must become clear that the days of consequence-free widespread online infringement are over."

That was funny wasn't it? So yeah... what about Cheryl Cole's single? It's a real grower isn't it? Yadda yadda [Mof]