The Digital Economy Bill continues to be discussed and amended in Parliament but is facing fierce criticism in and out of government, notably from author and web guru Don Tapscott, who publicly challenged Lord Mandelson for a debate last month.
After having their say on the draft provisions aimed at reducing copyright infringement last week, the Lords are still ploughing their way through hundreds of amendments which acknowledge their concerns.
Last week, the Lords continued the line-by-line examination of the Bill, particularly on clauses eight to 10, where issues examined included administering and enforcing internet service provider (ISP) and copyright owner compliance, use of legal access to copyright material and assessment and preparation related to obligations to limit internet access.
While UK ISPs are moving to implement controlling measures such as piracy detection software, Tapscott maintains that file sharing is key to creating a thriving digital economy and that restricting it would be retrograde.
In this interview, he also suggests possible alternatives for file sharing and criticises the government’s ‘criminalisation of web users’, while discussing the wider impact the UK economy will suffer if restrictions are imposed.
Mark Kobayashi-Hillary, Computing blogger and social media adviser and commentator also participates in the Q&A.
Mandelson (I can't bring myself to prefix his name with the title "Lord") has got a lot to answer for. Seems he had no interest in this business before being wined and dined by an influential entertainment honcho. The whole affair stinks, in my opinion. Look at his previous devious record.
Posted by: Dave 09 Apr 2010
THE DIGITAL ECONOMY BILL: a Bill that is being rushed through Parliament using the very undemocratic and "behind closed doors" process known as "wash-up". Certain parts regarding piracy have been directly copied and pasted from a BPI memo. Natural justice (presumption of innocence) has been replaced with the presumption of guilt - an accusation of illicit file sharing by a rights holder will result in the "accused" been treated as guilty, and an appeal will cost a fee that the Lords decided should be significantly high enough to deter mischievous pirates playing the system.
Certain groups are already in the process of obfuscating the IP addresses in a torrent IP swarm by injection random ones. Other devious methods are being developed that could see your PC being hijacked and silently "downloading" in the background on behalf of someone else.
WHO SHOULD BE MOST CONCERNED: Any parent who has a household Internet connection in their name and one or more children between the ages of 14 and 24 who use that Internet connection. Any business or body offering public Wi-Fi (free or otherwise). Any sensible person who doesn't want to see large media companies becoming the gatekeepers of the Internet.
Similar laws in other countries have not worked. Just look at Australia, where they passed a law forcing ISPs to disconnect customers on the say-so of rights holders. Fortunately for the Aussies, one ISP stood up against the media giants and won (Google for "AFACT vs. iiNet"). Also look at how the similar DCMA is being abused in the United States - blocking everything from a YouTube video of a baby dancing while in the background a Prince track is playing, to a take-down of a "Joker-ized" image of President Obama, to user generated comments and opinions being removed (Google "DMCA abuse").
Look at the man behind the DEB - Lord Peter Mandelson - a man who has resigned from office twice in the past amid accusations of abusing his position.
It's "music to my ears" (pardon the pun) to hear someone like Don Tapscott talk about the Digital Economy Bill. Why isn't someone like this consulted by the government before blindly backing the DEB?
Posted by: Vanessa 02 Apr 2010
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