The British government has brought down its long-awaited Digital Economy Bill, and it's perfectly useless and terrible. It consists almost entirely of penalties for people who do things that upset the entertainment industry (including the "three-strikes" rule that allows your entire family to be cut off from the net if anyone who lives in your house is accused of copyright infringement, without proof or evidence or trial), as well as a plan to beat the hell out of the video-game industry with a new, even dumber rating system (why is it acceptable for the government to declare that some forms of artwork have to be mandatorily labelled as to their suitability for kids? And why is it only some media? Why not paintings? Why not novels? Why not modern dance or ballet or opera?). So it's bad. £50,000 fines if someone in your house is accused of filesharing. A duty on ISPs to spy on all their customers in case they find something that would help the record or film industry sue them (ISPs who refuse to cooperate can be fined £250,000). But that's just for starters. The real meat is in the story we broke yesterday: Peter Mandelson, the unelected Business Secretary, would have to power to make up as many new penalties and enforcement systems as he likes. And he says he's planning to appoint private militias financed by rightsholder groups who will have the power to kick you off the internet, spy on your use of the network, demand the removal of files or the blocking of websites, and Mandelson will have the power to invent any penalty, including jail time, for any transgression he deems you are guilty of. And of course, Mandelson's successor in the next government would also have this power. What isn't in there? Anything about stimulating the actual digital economy. Nothing about ensuring that broadband is cheap, fast and neutral. Nothing about getting Britain's poorest connected to the net. Nothing about ensuring that copyright rules get out of the way of entrepreneurship and the freedom to create new things. Nothing to ensure that schoolkids get the best tools in the world to create with, and can freely use the publicly funded media -- BBC, Channel 4, BFI, Arts Council grantees -- to make new media and so grow up to turn Britain into a powerhouse of tech-savvy creators. Lobby organisation The Open Rights Group is urging people to contact their MP to oppose the plans. "This plan won't stop copyright infringement and with a simple accusation could see you and your family disconnected from the internet - unable to engage in everyday activities like shopping and socialising," it said. The government will also introduce age ratings on all boxed video games aimed at children aged 12 or over. There is, however, little detail in the bill on how the government will stimulate broadband infrastructure. Britain's new Internet law -- as bad as everyone's been saying, and worse. Much, much worse. - Boing Boing Petition: Sign the Petition Boys : Petition to: abolish the proposed law that will see alleged illegal filesharers disconnected from their broadband connections, without a fair trial. | Number10.gov.uk
The media industry are a bunch of bastards. If they hadn't been so greedy at the start, piracy would not be as common.
I really hate how an unelected member of the government (who cannot be held to account by the public via elections) can make up such important policies to basically ruin the freedom of speech on the internet! Its becoming a nanny state more and more, the only reason this has been done is to satisfy the big media companies who are "losing out to piracy". If only the government entered into everything they do so enthusiastically we may have not lost as many lives in the "War on Terror"! The least that could be done with this would be to have a referendum so that the discontent public can voice their opinions to the government. Labour have repeatedly ignored voters in their actions whilst in goverment, including the war on terror, bankers bonuses, MP's expenses and now this! They have lost my vote!