BT and TalkTalk challenge Digital Economy Act

BBC News are reporting that two UK ISPs, BT and TalkTalk are seeking a judicial review of the Digital Economy Act which was rushed into law without any substantial debate in the dying days of the Labour government. Poorly-drafted and many believe unworkable, the Digital Economy Act was widely opposed by campaigners for digital rights such as Open Rights Group.

Which MPs voted "No" to the Digital Economy Bill?

Dear Citizens | Open Rights Group

Interesting reply from my MP about the Digital Economy Bill, the wash-up and EDM 1223

I've just received the reply below from my MP.

What is interesting is his statement that for the Digital Economy Bill to be included in the 'wash-up' it would need the "full support" of the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and the minor parties.  The Liberal Democrats, of course, have recently changed their position to one of opposition to the Digital Economy Bill being pushed through before the General Election without proper scrutiny.  If my MP is correct, this alone would be enough to stop the bill being included in the 'wash-up'.  But is he correct?  I thought that when the Liberal Democrats came out against the bill being rushed through, they warned that their position alone may not be enough to prevent the bill going through in the 'wash-up'.

Does anyone know enough about the 'wash-up' procedure to give a definitive answer?

Dear Mr Clark

Thank you for your email.  I am not able to sign EDMs concerning government legislation as I am a Parliamentary Private Secretary.  However, I was surprised to see the second reading debate (on the principle rather than the detail of the Bill) is now timetabled for 6th April.

Given it is expected the General Election will be called next week, with the likely date for Parliament's dissolution suggested for 12th April, this bill could only now be passed into law with the consent of all the Opposition parties in both the Commons and the Lords, and therefore be included in the wash-up process. I am not sure what the current official positions of the Conservatives, Lib Dems and the minor parties are in respect of the Bill, or whether they would allow it to proceed, but it cannot do so without their full support of the legislation unamended in its current form.

Clearly my own preference is for legislation to be properly debated and, where necessary, amended in the usual manner which I very much hope will happen.

Yours sincerely

ANDREW GWYNNE MP

Opposition to the Digital Economy Bill growing - time to email your MP again

Well I've just sent my third email to my MP Andrew Gwynne about the Digital Economy Bill.

He 'replied' to my first email by ignoring everything I wrote about the actual bill, describing the stages through which a bill has to go before it becomes law, and saying that of course the Digital Economy Bill would have to go through all these stages before it became law, and if it hadn't done so before the end of this Parliament, then it would fall.  Unless, he went on to say, it was included in the 'wash-up' which he described as "an informal agreement between the House of Commons and the House of Lords on non-contentious issues".

I already knew all this of course, so emailed back and told him that it was the government's intention to include the Digital Economy Bill in the 'wash-up' that worried me, and ask for his assurance that he'd do everything he could to make sure this didn't happen.

My elected representative ignored this second email.

Now that the Labour MP Austin Mitchell has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) calling for the bill to be shelved until after the General Election when it can be properly debated and scrutinised, I have emailed Andrew Gwynne again to ask him to sign the EDM.  I have also asked him to let me know whether he signs it or not as this will help me to decide how to vote in the next few weeks.  Let's just say I'm not holding my breath...

If you live in the UK, please write and ask your MP to sign the EDM too.  Pressure is mounting over the Digital Economy Bill.  The Liberal Democrats have already changed their position and now support the bill being scrapped and re-introduced in the next Parliament.  More MPs signing the EDM will continue to bring pressure on the government to withdraw this ill-conceived bill.

You can easily contact your MP through WriteToThem.

If you live in the UK and want to keep the internet free - please email your MP today about the Digital Economy Bill

Peter Mandelson is rushing to force the Digital Economy Bill into law before the General Election.

The draconian law is opposed by industry experts, internet service providers (like TalkTalk and BT), web giants including Google, Yahoo and Ebay and even the British Library. Despite all this opposition, the Government is trying to rush it through quietly just before the election without proper debate – without a chance for us to voice our opposition. Email your MP now and urge them to stop the government rushing this law through.

There’s plenty to oppose in the Digital Economy Bill, it gives the government the ability to disconnect millions. Schools, libraries and businesses could see their connection cut if their pupils, readers of customers infringe any copyright. But one group likes it, the music industry. In a leaked memo a few days ago they admitted the only way to get the bill through would be to rush it through without a real parliamentary debate. Let’s stop that happening.

Write to your MP now urging them to stop the Government rushing the bill through. It’ll take you less than 2 minutes. Just enter your postcode above (so we can find your MP) and click “participate” to get started.

 

 

UK government data provided by GovEval.
38degrees.org.uk make it very easy to find out who your MP is and send them an email.  I've just done it and it only took a few minutes.

And when you've emailed your MP, why not join the Open Rights Group and the Pirate Party UK too?

 

More on Bono's filesharing hypocrisy: Gigi Sohn of Public Knowledge | Boing Boing

Public Knowledge founder Gigi Sohn tackles Bono's recent NYT op-ed, in which the rock star suggested we follow China's lead on net-filtering technology to limit the scourge of file sharing. Ms. Sohn writes:

bonohed.jpg But the most absurd thing about Bono's endorsement of draconian copyright enforcement is that it undermines just about everything else he professes to stand for. Look at the activities and goals of One, the nonprofit organization Bono co-founded. One is "committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa." It "campaign[s] for better development policies, more effective aid and trade reform. We also support greater democracy, accountability and transparency to ensure policies to beat poverty are implemented effectively." Among the specific issues One works on are the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDs and malaria, increasing access to quality education and ensuring trade policies that "create economic growth and opportunities for the poorest people."

If Bono truly cares about poverty, education, health care and fair trade in developing regions like Africa, he should be against draconian intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement regimes and for more balance. Numerous studies (including from the World Bank) have concluded that the strong IPR regimes exported from the West to the South (many through trade agreements) mainly benefit industrialized countries. There are a number of reasons for this, not the least of which is the cost of re-aligning national laws to fit these regimes and the cost of enforcement itself. Resources that could be devoted to education, or health care or fighting poverty are instead spent on protecting transnational media companies.

Bono's "One" Ignorant Idea (Public Knowledge, via EFF)

 

Having fixed Africa and AIDS, Bono tackles filesharing | Boing Boing

Bono, in a New York Times top-ten essay filled with of Brilliant Ideas That Will Fix The World If Only They'd Listen To Moi, says "Intellectual Property Developers" are doomed because of filesharing. Snip:

bonohed.jpg But we know from America's noble effort to stop child pornography, not to mention China's ignoble effort to suppress online dissent, that it's perfectly possible to track content. Perhaps movie moguls will succeed where musicians and their moguls have failed so far, and rally America to defend the most creative economy in the world, where music, film, TV and video games help to account for nearly 4 percent of gross domestic product."
Ah yes, the "noble effort to stop child pornography," always good to lead with that one when you're proposing draconian net-trawling tactics. After all, those efforts did stop child pornography, right? And surely what's good for squashing China's dissidents is good for the world! Cory's on holiday, but you can bet he had some pithy goodness to tweet, after the jump.

bono-can-stuff-it.jpg

Bono: Ten for the Next Ten (New York Times)