A law aimed at reducing piracy on the internet has been cleared by the House of Lords and will now be rushed through the Commons in time for the general election.
Elements of the Digital Economy Bill target those who share files online illegally. Offenders will be banned from using the internet.
Some online firms claim a "catch-all" clause in the proposed legislation threatens "freedom of speech and the open internet" because it would have granted the Government the power to change copyright law whenever it saw fit; the Bill cleared the Lords because concessions were promised on this.
The Government was defeated by the peers earlier in the month when they changed the clause to include the courts if a ban on an internet user is being sought.
Companies such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook, campaigners for consumer rights and academics wrote to the Financial Times criticising the proposals.