All wrong!!! DEBill

So last week parliament debated (for only a couple of hours) the Digital Economy Bill.

Let me remind you that this bill has two major issues

1 It gives copyright holders - i.e. the BPI - the possibility to cut people off the internet

2 It gives copyright holders - i.e. the BPI - the possibility to have web sites and links to web sites hosting copyright material blocked.

I remind you also of two of our fundamental human rights

1 Free association

2 Free speech

Both of these rights are removed by the Bill and are thus illegal. But do they care?

Moreover our politicians don't seem to understand the internet at all and were not really competent to discuss it!

Only a few MPs bothered to turn up for the debate (around 40):

But the public were there, the Guardian reported:

"25,000 tweets, 20,000 letters written, 64% of MPs didn't turn up to vote and 187 strolled in at the end without bothering to listen to the debate"

and

"The last straw was when it was revealed that Stephen Timms –- the minister for Digital Britain – was under the impression that "IP address" referred to "intellectual property", rather than internet protocol."

Noteably my MP, Tony Baldry, who I have written to many times about this Bill, was not there. I have sent him a letter saying

"Dear Tony

After all the inputs I gave you about the moral, ethical, business and practical objections to the Digital Economy Bill, I note that you did not even turn up to vote, nor did you express any of my opinions during the debate. You assured me you would take these on board and let them be known.

In fact as the Guardian reported you were one of the 64%...

The public sent .. ."25,000 tweets, 20,000 letters written, 64% of MPs didn't turn up to vote and 187 strolled in at the end without bothering to listen to the debate"

Is no one listening in Parliament? This is a scandal of giant proportions when the BPI can write and get passed their views into law. And it is a scandal that tramples on our human rights to free speech and association.

I say it again

The internet must be free, what you have passed into law is censorship. Would you turn off the BBCs transmitters if they broadcast copyright infringing material, would you shut down printing presses? The channel of communication cannot ever be attacked because it is used for the transmission of copies of copyright material.

I can assure you that you will not get my vote at the election. No matter that I feel the Conservatives stand a better chance of rescuing the UK from financial disaster...

Regards

Antony Watts"