Digital Economy Act 2017: The pick 'n' mix assortment of provisions receives Royal Assent

The Digital Economy Act (the "Act") finally received Royal Assent on 27 April 2017 and the final text was published at the beginning of May. First introduced in the House of Commons in July 2016, it has been the subject of much scrutiny and debate by both Houses of Parliament. In the run up to the General Election, the legislation was passed in a final sweep as part of the so-called "wash up" period before the dissolution of Parliament.

It covers a wide assortment of areas falling under the "digital economy" umbrella but at its heart it seeks to "modernise the UK for enterprise" – focusing on improving access to digital communication services (including through improved connectivity and infrastructure), supporting new digital industries and enhancing protections for citizens using those services.

Some of the areas covered by the Act include:

• a new direct marketing code to be introduced by the Information Commissioner's Office ("ICO") that will have statutory status, strengthen enforcement action and further protect individuals' rights against so-called nuisance calls and spam emails
• a range of measures relating to government digital services including those intended to improve the delivery of public services and sharing of personal data between certain public authorities
• a new Broadband Universal Services Obligation providing end users with a legal right to request a minimum broadband connection (initially set at 10Mbps
• increasing penalties for online copyright infringement to equalise the penalties with the laws on physical copyright infringement
• extending certain powers of Ofcom including in respect of regulating the BBC

Much of the Act is not yet in force. With staggered commencement dates and many of the provisions being commenced (and the detail provided) by secondary legislation - it is currently unclear whether (and how) these diverse provisions will fit together, including with other measures being progressed in parallel. For example the potential overlap of the new direct marketing code with the current European reform of the e-privacy framework. And that is without the added layer of complexity that Brexit may bring.

In addition, the combination of Brexit and the outcome of the recent General Election may well reduce the Government's bandwidth to pass such secondary legislation - with anything not regarded as "critical path" being progressed less quickly.

The Digital Economy Act also supports a number of the key concepts set out in the UK Digital Strategy 2017, the government's long-awaited strategy for a post-Brexit digital Britain published in March 2017 (refer to the article below).

Faced with potential political and economic change, it remains to be seen whether the Digital Economy Act 2017 will in fact achieve its aim of building "a more connected and stronger economy", as envisaged by Matt Hancock, Minister of State for Digital and Culture. However one thing is for sure, let us hope it is more successful than its older sibling, the Digital Economy Act 2010 – which was also hurried through the "wash up" process in a similar manner then but many of its provisions were either repealed or never implemented.

To read the firm's full article on the Digital Economy Act 2017 please click here.

To access the Digital Economy Act 2017 click here.