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Digital Economy Bill: What's in it & why you should care

Slayed

Slayed

Hyper Poster
As you may have heard on the news today, the UK government forced through the Digital Economy Bill last night.

It now passes to the Lords to get "rubber-stamped", and then goes into UK Law.

Usually bills as complicated as this get properly debated - this had only 4 hours thanks to Labour (with the aid of the Conservatives) abusing the "wash-up" process. Only 30 MPs turned-up to debate it!

So what does it mean?

It's a big bill and there's a lot in there, but the key points for internet users such as ourselves are:-
  1. Your ISP will now have to inspect your internet traffic, and keep records of any "copyright infringement".
  2. The Secretary of State for Business (i.e. the goverment) will be allowed to "block any site which has been, is being or is likely to be used for or in connection with an activity that infringes copyright".
  3. Allows the Secretary of State to order 'technical measures' to cut off or limit the connectivity of anyone for unspecified times. These 'technical measures' could be to block access to websites and services at an individual or generic level.
  4. Punish people (who share their connections for example) without proof or a trial.
  5. Gives copyright holders the ability to accuse with impunity (with little or no real evidence), and for the accused to be presumed and treated as if guilty.
  6. Charge you money if you want to appeal.
  7. Enable the Secretary of State to amend the Act without going back through Parliament.
  8. Allow the Secretary of State to take over Nominet and replace it with another registry - again without running it through Parliament.
If that list doesn't scare you, you're not reading it right. This is about to be Law.

So if any site is accused (just accused, not proven), of publishing anything that is copyrighted, without approval, they can get shut down by the government.

That could be a file. Or an article. Or even a picture.

If anyone is accused of downloading something that is copyrighted, the goverment can cut off your internet. They have yet to decide how quickly, or for how long, but there are currently no rules.

A side-effect of that is, you can forget about ever having free WiFi access again in public - they can't risk it. (That's the only reason I ever go to McDonalds gone...)

Plus, sites like Wikileaks, which has been in the news this week after leaking a video of a US helicopter shooting-up Iraqi civilians, will get shutdown for breach of copyright.

But probably the worst bit for everyone is, if someone else uses your internet connection to download something they shouldn't, you could get cut off.

I suggest everyone beefs up their web security ASAP....of course, if you have devices that can't cope with that, you'll just have to buy new ones.

Impressed?
 
It seems like it's just a tightening up of the existing conditions for using the internet or copying/sharing music/videos. Although I do heavily disagree with the appeal process and State intervention...but sadly I'm used to that after 13 years of Labour rule.

At the moment, I don't think there is any need for panic or overreaction. As with all new laws, I think we will have to see how this is policed and how effective it will be.
 
For me its complete breach of privacy, not that there was any before really.

I do not know what to make of it tbh.

I did not download songs from anywhere but iTunes, same goes for films.

It does not affect me at all but I will just need to make sure my internet is secure at home and fully trust people that will use it.

I still do not see how they will police this tbh, I think they are just going for scare tactics.

Some people watch sky sports and other channels on their pc's for free by following links I assume these will also be banned.

As Ian said the rules have always been there in the terms and conditions but now they are just being made law.

It still needs to go through anyway and many still do not think it will get passed. Unless I have read that wrong.

Also from what I have read they do not expect free wifi to be affected due to you having to agree to the terms before using it. Work are busy looking into this now but it would appear there are different rules for home and buisness. At home the person whos name the line is under is the one responsible. At work it is the end user and this will be the same at places that give you free wifi. As my manager just said to me, there is very little change really just before you were not breaking the law but after this you will be.

For websites such as CF there will be a big impact thouugh. By rights we would have to ask every park if we could upload pictures that we have taken with our own cameras. Povs would not be allowed without written proof from all parks same goes for park maps. Also sites that put there own name on the pictures would not be allowed to do so as they do not own the pictures the park does, all gets very complicated as it very open to different views.

None UK websites that are not covered by this law would be blocked if they are showing anything that has a copyright that they are breaking within the UK law. Channels like youtube would be affected big time as we have different laws to the USA with regards to what can and cannot be used thanks to the BBC's old laws.

At work right now marketing are on the phone to suppliers to make sure we can use their pictures and get it in writing. They have been on this all day so far so its costing a lot in phone calls as well.

Yes Slayed you are right this law is crap and is going to catch a lot of people out. It is worse than I actually thought it was.
 
It is annoying but like has been said it's going to be very hard to police. I assume they're just trying to scare people to stop uploading and downloading songs/films etc. If they have a hefty fine/punishment and they catch a few people doing it and make the news known then lots of people will stop doing it.
 
The thing is, it's not just the ability to go after suspected offenders without due process or adequate proof - it's creating a lot of new powers to shut down sites and eliminate material that the government and or their corporate supporters don't like - again, bypassing the court system. Just because it's being billed as a (very broad) piece of copyright legislation doesn't mean it can't be used as a convenient means of censorship.

This will be abused sooner or later. This is an extremely dangerous piece of legislation in its current form. I just really hope the Lords refuse to pass it in its current form (as I know they've expressed some concerns about it already). If they can delay it until the new parliament is elected, then maybe there's a chance it'll at least be subjected to additional scrutiny and some of the more dangerous contents removed or watered down. Unfortunately both Labour and the Conservatives seem to be firmly in the "Copyright uber alles - everyone else be damned" camp.
 
This article is quite an interesting read and breaks it down a bit.

Last night, MPs voted through the digital economy bill. There were only a few MPs in the Commons, but on the internet thousands of people's tempers were at boiling point. But what does the bill mean to the average internet user or even, let's whisper it, file-sharer?

Well, not as much as you might think, given the hyperbole whipped up in all corners of the internet. There are matters of principle at stake and many internet users were dismayed to see MPs settle so quickly and firmly on the side of copyright holders rather than users. But in terms of practical effects on their day-to-day activity, the issues are limited.

Ofcom will now be tasked with setting a standard for the level of evidence required to begin an action against a copyright infringer. In this case, the copyright infringer is basically someone downloading Pirates of the Caribbean from a file-sharing site, like BitTorrent or Pirate Bay.

The evidence itself will not point to the individual, but to their location. Copyright holders, such as record or film companies, will hire private detecting agencies to look on torrent sites, detect where material is coming from and then send a list of IP addresses to the relevant internet service provider (ISP). The ISP will keep a record of the number of incidents and once it hits a certain level (yet to be decided) it will send a letter. A level above that will trigger another letter. And then, on the third strike, the internet connection will be suspended.

We don't know how long for, yet. The suggestion is that it would be something like a week, but if record companies decide that's not working they'll presumably ask for more.

The new system will put a commercial pressure on torrent services to provide software which helps customers evade detection. In Sweden, the use of encryption and anonymisation technology has shot up since a similar regulation was put in place. Japan experienced the same story in similar circumstances.

Internet users can purchase ISP proxies or encryption technologies for about £5 a month, which basically make it look as if the user is coming from another country. There are plenty of anonymous peer-to-peer technologies which are free to use and easily found on the internet. Many internet users were upset to see several MPs speak last night on a subject which they seemed less than familiar with, but that factor is also on their side: once again, the law is trying to catch up with technology, and failing.

That doesn't remove the political opposition to the bill. For such a controversial and important piece of law, many MPs and members of the public were horrified to see it forced through so quickly. "This is an utter disgrace," said Jim Killock, of the Open Rights Group. "This is an attack on everyone's right to communicate, work and gain an education. Politicians have shown themselves to be incompetent and completely out of touch with an entire generation's values."

The bill got through because of Tory support, a fact Peter Mandelson avoided this morning when he attacked the party for watering it down. "The digital economy legislation has survived but the Tories have made changes that will make the task of building our digital economy in this country somewhat harder. It just shows they do not get it about business, about industry and what we need to do in this country to invest in infrastructure, new technology strengths if we're going to make them pay our way in the global economy in coming decades. The blow they have tried to strike against the digital economy legislation shows they just do not get it on what we need to do to build up the industries of the future."

Whichever way you look at it, last night did not paint a reassuring picture of democracy. MPs were hurried into the Commons by the whips to vote on a bill in which they had not actually sat to listen to the debate, which anyway took place in double-quick time so the law could be secured by the time of the election. Many internet users won't be happy about that. But when it comes to avoiding the consequences of the bill, the path ahead may be easier than they expected.
Click to expand...
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/elections/anal ... d-you.html
 
Mandelson waited until the very end, knowing full well there wouldn't be enough time to properly debate it, the unelected cheating ****.

Interestingly, Talk Talk have just said that they'll refuse any request to disconnect someone, and they'll see the (next) government in court.

Now if ALL the ISPs do that it'll be completely undermined.
 
Not sure what to think of this, from what I understand this is like a Big Brother is Watching your downloads yeah? and not what you're browsing?
 
It's just turning t&c's into law - I approve. People should just stop downloading illegally, it undermines the industries!

Yay for moral highgrounds :p
 
Will love to see how they will police 3G :)

This is what is pissing me off at the moment, no one is being honest. Yet again we were told Labour pushed this through last night, now it turns out the Conservatives fully backed it as well so even if they get in it will stay lol.

Slayed Virgin and Orange have said the same as Talk Talk now as well.

They should all be working on stuff to improve the economy and leave things like this to another day. Will this put more money in my pocket and help create jobs, NO!

Well its been passed now so its law.
 
I sure am glad I live in the U.S.A. :--D :p
 
East Coast(er) General said:
I sure am glad I live in the U.S.A. :--D :p
Click to expand...

Where we lead, you guys follow :p You'll have something similar soon enough, especially with that socialist you have in charge! We had our Obama 13 years ago and now look a us...
 
Neal said:
It's just turning t&c's into law - I approve. People should just stop downloading illegally, it undermines the industries!
Click to expand...

I've no problem with stopping people from downloading illegally. I have a major problem with introducing wide-reaching legislation that will be abused for purposes beyond simple copyright enforcement, as well as basically allowing copyright holders to do an end-run around the checks and balances built in to British law.

We all know Mandelson is in the media companies' back pocket. The sooner that corrupt piece of **** is out of office, the better. As for the USA, they'll soon be equally screwed - the US administration is just trying to do a complete end-run around their entire democratic process by using the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement to bypass US lawmakers completely - with full approval from the White House, I should add.

I pay for all my content, and am happy to do so. I get pissed off when content publishers and politicians start legislating to enforce their personal interests at the expense of the citizens. Joe public isn't going to see any benefit from such legislation - this terrible bill is designed to exclusively benefit corrupt special interests at the expense of everyone else.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the failure of democracy. :banghead:
 
Neal said:
It's just turning t&c's into law - I approve. People should just stop downloading illegally, it undermines the industries!

Yay for moral highgrounds :p
Click to expand...

"Ben, can you help find me a copy of the How To Train Your Dragon soundtrack for free?"

Pfft.

:wink:
 
Not sure if anyone has seen this, but I thought it was quite amusing:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_P4lJD_OPI&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
 
Ben said:
Neal said:
It's just turning t&c's into law - I approve. People should just stop downloading illegally, it undermines the industries!

Yay for moral highgrounds :p
Click to expand...

"Ben, can you help find me a copy of the How To Train Your Dragon soundtrack for free?"

Pfft.

:wink:
Click to expand...

Then I thought better of it and purchased - so BOO to you :p
 
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