Hello folks I wrote to Desmond Swayne, MP for New Forest West, the old-fashioned way with paper and ink, and got the following reply.
cheers Chris ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 March 2010 Dear Mr Swayne I am writing to you today because I am very worried that the Government is planning to rush the Digital Economy Bill into law without a full Parliamentary debate. Many people think it will damage schools and businesses as well as innocent people who rely on the internet because it will allow the Government to disconnect people it suspects of copyright infringement. Industry experts, internet service providers such as TalkTalk and BT and major internet companies like Google and Yahoo are all opposing the bill - yet the Government seems intent on forcing it through without a real debate. The freedom and openness of the internet is its strength. It is vital that citizens in every country continue to have full access to it. What needs to change is the way that, for example, music companies such as Sony do business: it is up to them to adapt to the new technology, and find new business models that will allow them to continue. As a constituent I ask you to do all you can to ensure the Government does not rush the bill through and deny us our democratic right to scrutiny and debate. Yours sincerely Chris Dennis ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 22nd March 2010 Dear Mr. Dennis, Thank you for contacting me about the Digital Economy Bill. For nearly twelve years, the Government has neglected this crucial area of our economy. We believe a huge amount needs to be done to give the UK a modern regulatory environment for the digital and creative industries. Whilst we welcome aspects of the bill there are other areas of great concern to us. We want to make sure that Britain has the most favourable intellectual framework in the world for innovators, digital content creators and high tech businesses. We recognise the need to tackle digital piracy and make it possible for people to buy and sell digital intellectual property online. However, it is vital that any anti-piracy measures promote new business models rather than holding innovation back. This must not be about propping up existing business models but creating an environment that allows new ones to develop. That is why we were opposed to the original clause 17 and are still opposed to clause 29 which props up ITV regional news with BBC Licence Fee payers money. The Government's failure to introduce the Bill until the eleventh hour of this Parliament has given rise to considerable concern that we no longer have the time to scrutinise the many controversial and detailed measures outlined in their proposals. We fully appreciate these concerns. However in, certain areas, including measures to allow website blocking in certain carefully proscribed [sic] circumstances, there has been substantial debate in the House of Lords. I also believe they should be debated in the House of Commons before we agree to them. Only if we are confident that they have been given the scrutiny that they deserve will we support them. It is also worth pointing out that many of the fears about the Bill’s proposals are not entirely accurate. People won’t be disconnected from the internet without due process. And it will only be a small minority of people who consistently infringe copyright who are disconnected, not the average person who happens to have done so once or twice. Even then, they may be able to reconnect using another ISP immediately and without penalty. Please rest assured that my colleagues in the Shadow Culture, Media and Sport and Shadow Business, Innovation and Skills teams will do everything in their power to work towards legislation that strengthens our digital sector and provides the security that our businesses and consumers so desperately need. Yours sincerely, Desmond Swayne TD MP ----------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Chris Dennis [email protected] Fordingbridge, Hampshire, UK -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Wed 2010-04-07 20:00 http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2645413 Chat: http://www.mibbit.com/?server=irc.blitzed.org&channel=%23dorset List info: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/dorset
