&host=www.rt.com&uri=/news/digital-bill-uk-rights/&via=1.1 205.128.88.15:80 (Footprint 4.8/FPMCP)&ua=CCBot/1.0 (+http://www.commoncrawl.org/bot.html))
Digital Bill to strip Britons of their rights
Published: 07 April, 2010, 12:33
Edited: 07 September, 2010, 18:12
Cover artwork for Michael Angelo feat. Jenry R music album ‘Disconnected’ / High Light Records HLR 015
(11.4Mb) embed videoTAGS: Scandal, UK, Protest, Human rights, Internet, Information Technology
Britain is hoping to put itself at the forefront of the fight against Internet piracy with the new Digital Economy Bill, to be debated in parliament later on Tuesday.
The bill will give authorities the power to block pirate websites and cut off people from the Internet if caught file sharing.
The bill is going to be rushed through at the end of a session when the British Parliament is practically “dead” for practical purposes, at high speed,
Protesters claim the measures are too extreme and threaten the very future of the web.
Meanwhile British lawmakers want to make sure that Britain is on the cutting edge of the global digital economy. The Digital Bill will include a clampdown on illegal file sharing, a push for switching over to the digital radio and tougher laws to stop children getting hold of violent video games.
However its detractors see it as draconian because it will give Internet service providers the power to disconnect entire households from the web for illegal file sharing.
The opponents believe the Digital Economy Bill is the most fundamental assault on human rights in Britain for years. It actually proposes the removal of the British right to a fair trial before the severe punishment of disconnecting people from the Internet. They believe that the British music industry has been actively participating in the preparation of this bill and that the bill is “absolutely disgraceful and must be opposed.”
The bill is 79 pages long and is extremely detailed. Thousands of people have contacted their MPs to complain about the bill, it is expected to be rushed through and made into law with minimal discussion.
Click to enlarge
The executive director of the Open Rights Group, Jim Killock, revealed that “The bill will be passed through in roughly 45 minutes, through a sort of rushed procedure called the wash-up. This is utterly undemocratic,” he said, “not having the debate in public.”
The bill, which includes disconnecting people from the Internet without due process, will be less about the brave new 21st Century digital world and more about protecting the old 20th Century business models used in the music and film industries, and some say it threatens the nationwide Internet connectivity it is supposed to be promoting.
If anyone in your house or even on your street uses the Internet for music downloads, you may face a cut in your Internet connection speed or a complete cut-off from the web. The same could happen to places with public Wi-Fi connections like pubs and restaurants.
Certain changes have been made to the bill, though, including one saying the public will have to be consulted before the government blocks websites providing pirated music and videos, but protesters say “consulted” does not automatically mean “listened to”, so there is no substitute for proper debate.
Austin Mitchell, a British MOP representing the Labour Party told RT that while the bill on Internet copyright is still in proceeding, it is already clear that it would protect the interests of big businesses and suppress a relatively small group of enthusiasts who exchange music and video files among themselves. The MP compared the bill to a sledgehammer used to smash a small knot. Besides this, he said that the present draft is unjust to those who become involved in Internet piracy against their will, as many sites do not clearly indicate that they distribute the content in violation of copyright laws.
07.04.2010, 12:18
“I saw people die after surgery, die from TB…It was mind-boggling” – war veteranRT presents War Witness – a special project dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the victory in the Second World War. |
07.04.2010, 13:13
“Russian sailors ready for America’s Cup”Yachting is not a sport Russia can boast a lot of success in. Russian sailors have sometimes done well at World Championships, but when it comes to the Olympics and America’s Cup they have hardly made a ripple. |
The Bill is a continuation of the rapidly expanding fascism that constitutes politics in the UK. As a Briton living in Moscow, i'm not surprised that Mandeleson has the green light from his mates in the labour party to run roughshod over the "masses". Most of all i'm not surprised at the deafening silence from the house of lords, as the maniac continues to carve up any semblance of citizens rights. The UK is in danger of being swallowed up by the virus of political unaccountability, and for a nation who tiredly trumpets its democratic values, this is part of the continuing hypocrisy peddled to the public, who are, frankly, too thick to read the signs. The upcoming elections won't change a thing, as all 3 major parties are part of the same process. As a fulltime composer, this bill is alleged to be protecting my interests. It does anything but, instead being evidence of a labour government and record industry cabal. Contrary to popular opinion, we're not all desperate for a "record" deal, or stupid enough to be led into insidious machinery with the lure of "Cars, Women, and Riches." There are a lot of independent composers and writers who embrace new technologies and business models to reach their audiences, successfully, without having to pay a crippling tax to record producers and distributors. This bill is designed to crush us "indys" in favour of the corporates. This is another large nail in the coffin of citizens rights, enthusiastically endorsed by the entire british political system, and is part of a trend that will end in the replacement of near extinct democracy with societal fascism. I'll never go back, as i value my democratic rights, and Russia generously gives me that, for which i and my wonderful russian wife are grateful. Incidentally, this bill is also aimed at crushing the opensource software movement. Take a closer look at the bill, and see the weight of monolithic software and hardware corporates pushing this from afar.
Well no suprise really in this bill, Labour are almost communist they have a new face and call it new Labour but the origins are still left wing clap trap. Labour have done more to erode democaray than any other party in the UK, they were quick to join the war on terror which quickly followed with the anti terror laws. These laws are really to beat down the average man in the street and use on little countries like Iceland. Labour showed no spine when the Iranians took out sailors a few years ago. @ Joseph the county is the UK and the people are British not English. Education is pretty good in the UK with many students coming to our colleges and Universities from overseas. We do not have peasants this is a pharse mainly to describe poor peoples from the old Soviet block, we have something far worse, un-educated people who live of the state and are no use to man or beast. We have 2 problems with UK goverment, 1) they still think we are some kind of power 2) they make up to the yanks far too much. Finally i hope the BNP will make good headway this coming election
What will this all mean to us Linux users? I run Gentoo Linux. Its a 100 percent open source operating system that is fast, light weight and can cluster. It handles music recording applications much better due to its low overhead. What will this mean to our band? We only use the Internet for our releases for our fans that cant make our shows. We have no desire to get with a label. We have no desire to be owned. How will our British fans see our content? Will they be too scared to download our songs? How will they be able to tell if "Picture Me Dead" is not a labeled ban? How will they be able to tell that we want them to download our stuff and be apart of us on you-tube and other places? We don't need corporates to dictate to us how to do what we do. We live in an era where studio grade recording equipment is affordable to the masses. Is that what they really are scared of? Little bands cutting into their profits. Able to book venues and release content without the big guys getting any of the money. Eminem did it on his own. So can we. The Internet is our only source of advertisement. This law shrinks our market just that much more. Pretty soon we will have to ask permission from some governmental entity to do anything. The more government you have the less freedom you have because of all the laws it perpetuates. Vote out the incumbents and vote in people who will put our governments on a diet for God's sake.