In what’s probably something of a disappointing decision for tech geeks everywhere, Jeremy Hunt, the Conservative Culture Secretary, has told paidContent:UK that the coalition government does not have plans to repeal the controversial Digital Economy Act.

The Digital Economy Act includes the so-called ‘three strikes’ policy whereby ISPs are asked to send warning letters to customers suspected of illegal file sharing, eventually leading to their internet connections being cut off or severely throttled. The Open Rights Group launched a petition and website calling for the repeal of the act almost immediately after the coalition government took power, along with a counter which continues to tick until the act is repealed (if ever).

During the election campaign, Nick Clegg pledged that a Liberal Democrat government would repeal the act. The Conservatives mostly abstained from the act’s second reading in April, and the Act is not mentioned in the Coalition agreement or the new Programme for Government – though some had hoped that this would be included in the much-vaunted Freedom/Great Repeal Bill.

Campaigners against the act – or at least the more insidious measures it contains – can take some hope, however, from Hunt’s hints that the act may not remain in it’s entirety – he told paidContent that individual measures in the act will be subject to alterations depending on how they perform – suggesting that some of the more controversial provisions of the act may still be up in the air.