Astonishingly, the Digital Economy Bill passed and it is a heavy punch to the face for democracy. I’ve touched on the bill before (Dan Bull notably made fun of it when it was first proposed) and I don’t feel the need to go over everything again.
How things have changed… Even on the 2nd of April, my MP, Mark Todd (a notable opponent of the bill) was sure that it wouldn’t go through immediately and doing so would be undemocratic and pretty much bat-shit insane.
Peter Mandelson has the music industry’s cock swirling around in his mouth and I hope the music and movie industry are very happy.
Dan Bull makes another open letter song, it’s entertaining and raises some very important points, a few that I touched upon earlier in the week. Don’t forget to sign the petition (Britons).
We live in an alleged democracy and one of the key elements of this wonderful political system is that we are innocent until proven guilty. However, it seems that the Internet isn’t subject to this fundamental democratic rule that we are all entitled to.
So it’s bad. £50,000 fines if someone in your house is accused of filesharing. A duty on ISPs to spy on all their customers in case they find something that would help the record or film industry sue them (ISPs who refuse to cooperate can be fined £250,000).
But that’s just for starters. The real meat is in the story we broke yesterday: Peter Mandelson, the unelected Business Secretary, would have to power to make up as manynew penalties and enforcement systems as he likes. And he says he’s planning to appoint private militias financed by rightsholder groups who will have the power to kick you off the internet, spy on your use of the network, demand the removal of files or the blocking of websites, and Mandelson will have the power to invent any penalty, including jail time, for any transgression he deems you are guilty of. And of course, Mandelson’s successor in the next government would also have this power.
That’s not just bad, that’s a political fist fuck to anyone who even gives a damn about the internet and anyone who wants to protect net neutrality.
Of course, file sharing shouldn’t be illegal, sharing illegal files specifically should be, but even if you remove that debate, being accused of doing something is not good enough in the ‘real world’; why would anyone with an ounce of sense believe it is good enough online?
What the government effectively appear to be doing, is simply giving one big blow-job to the entertainment industry. After all, capitalism triumphs over freedom.
I recommend you read the full Boing Boing article (see source below) and then sign the petition if you are a British resident.
