Expert: online piracy laws ‘will hurt economy’

New internet piracy laws being formulated by the Government will harm the country’s thriving digital industry, an expert has claimed.

Sean Sherlock, minister of state at the Department of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation, is preparing a statutory instrument that opponents say mirrors the Stop Online Piracy Act in the US, a government vote on which was postponed after a global campaign against it.

According to Blacknight, the Irish registrar and hosting company, the introduction of similar laws here will hurt Ireland’s online trade.