Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Letter to Harriet Harman about the Digital Economy Bill
Dear Harriet Harman,
I am writing to express my concern about the Digital Economy Bill.
I am worried by reports that this Bill will be rushed through the Commons without the scrutiny it deserves. I do not believe that the allegations about undue influence from commercial lobbyists can yet be refuted, since clauses drafted by such lobbyists remain in place in the Bill as it stands. Such unquestioning acceptance of lobbyists' material is disappointing and at a time when politicians are under such grave suspicion of corruption it does not help to restore confidence.
The current provisions of the Bill (especially clauses 11-18) also threaten to have a severe negative effect on the freedoms we currently have in the UK to use public internet access and public file transfer services, while also threatening users with disconnection following allegations of copyright infringement: both these objectives represent a massively disproportionate response to the offences purported to occur.
It should not be possible for a conviction for infringement of copyright to result in curtailment of the defendant's access to something as fundamental as the Internet now is. That is like switching off the water supply to someone who has not paid their TV licence. Copyright is extremely important but this is not the way to encourage society to understand and respect it.
It is very difficult to prove accurately who is responsible for a copyright-infringing file transfer and this might lead to the most vulnerable users - those who do not understand the technology - being exploited by unscrupulous individuals who use their networks to perform such infringing file transfers. The passing of the bill will certainly drive determined individuals to make more concerted efforts to cover their tracks and it seems likely that innocent people will suffer at the least the pain of being unfairly charged and having to fight their case, even if they are not eventually convicted.
In addition, disconnection seems to restrict fundamental human rights, such as freedom of expression. Such rights can not be infringed by a democratic government without exceptional reasons. The infringement of copyright has not attracted such draconian penalties since the days of the Court of Star Chamber - a long-past era of oppression in which freedoms were not valued as we value them now.
Please take note of these concerns, which I share with so many others, and resist the call to rush through this inappropriate Bill.
Yours,
Ben Weiner
I am writing to express my concern about the Digital Economy Bill.
I am worried by reports that this Bill will be rushed through the Commons without the scrutiny it deserves. I do not believe that the allegations about undue influence from commercial lobbyists can yet be refuted, since clauses drafted by such lobbyists remain in place in the Bill as it stands. Such unquestioning acceptance of lobbyists' material is disappointing and at a time when politicians are under such grave suspicion of corruption it does not help to restore confidence.
The current provisions of the Bill (especially clauses 11-18) also threaten to have a severe negative effect on the freedoms we currently have in the UK to use public internet access and public file transfer services, while also threatening users with disconnection following allegations of copyright infringement: both these objectives represent a massively disproportionate response to the offences purported to occur.
It should not be possible for a conviction for infringement of copyright to result in curtailment of the defendant's access to something as fundamental as the Internet now is. That is like switching off the water supply to someone who has not paid their TV licence. Copyright is extremely important but this is not the way to encourage society to understand and respect it.
It is very difficult to prove accurately who is responsible for a copyright-infringing file transfer and this might lead to the most vulnerable users - those who do not understand the technology - being exploited by unscrupulous individuals who use their networks to perform such infringing file transfers. The passing of the bill will certainly drive determined individuals to make more concerted efforts to cover their tracks and it seems likely that innocent people will suffer at the least the pain of being unfairly charged and having to fight their case, even if they are not eventually convicted.
In addition, disconnection seems to restrict fundamental human rights, such as freedom of expression. Such rights can not be infringed by a democratic government without exceptional reasons. The infringement of copyright has not attracted such draconian penalties since the days of the Court of Star Chamber - a long-past era of oppression in which freedoms were not valued as we value them now.
Please take note of these concerns, which I share with so many others, and resist the call to rush through this inappropriate Bill.
Yours,
Ben Weiner
Labels: Digital Economy Bill, ukgov
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