The Government wants everyone to have broadband internet access. But there are certain things that it doesn’t want its citizens to do with that privilege.

On unveiling the final Digital Britain report, Lord Carter said illegal filesharing was “tantamount to theft” and proposed new measures to curb the practice. The key proposal is that the media industry watchdog, Ofcom, will be placed under a duty to take steps to reduce “copyright infringement” on the web. Put simply, it would be Ofcom’s job to find and enforce ways to stop online piracy.

Firstly, Ofcom will make sure that Internet Service Providers (ISPs), such as BT and Virgin, “notify alleged infringers of rights… that their conduct is unlawful”. This means that when illegal file-sharing is spotted by the company that provides your broadband, it will send you a letter telling you to stop.

In addition, ISPs will then hold the details of repeat offenders anonymously. This is so that when “rights-holders”, for example record companies, want to take a person to court the evidence will be readily available. In effect, ISPs are being forced to police the behaviour of their customers.

The Government hopes that this will be enough to deter illegal file-sharing. The overall aim is to reduce unlawful filesharing by 70 per cent. But if these measures are not enough, it is prepared to go much further. The Government intends also to provide Ofcom with beefed-up powers to prevent online piracy through a number of “technical measures”.

These include blocking certain sites or even internet access altogether. Interesting new measures include “bandwidth capping”, or reducing overall broadband speed - for example, slowing down the speed at which a person could download files. Another measure is “bandwidth shaping”, or reducing the speed at which a person could access certain websites and online services.

Some will cry that this is censorship. Others will say the Government is quite right to back up its threat to take action against persistent offenders.

But questions remain unanswered. How much illegal file sharing has to be done for you to be sent a letter asking you to stop? Who would be classed as a serious offender? What sites would Ofcom block and in what situations? The report admits that a lot more work has to go into answering practical questions like these, saying it needs to consult further on what stages would trigger the notification procedure and any legal action.

But while these details get worked out, the Government’s threat is clear - abuse your broadband access, and you might just lose it too.

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