On 25 March 2010 14:20, Chris Dennis <[email protected]> wrote:
> 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 > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Thats the exact same reply I got from Robert Syms - form letters are wonderful things. At least it generally seems positive regarding pushing for a proper debate. -- Andrew Montgomery-Hurrell Professional Geek Blog: http://darkliquid.co.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkliquid Fiction: http://www.protagonize.com/author/darkliquid -- 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
