On the 8th April 2010 the Digital Economy Bill received the Royal Assent, meaning that it is now an Act of Parliament; a law of this country. For its entire run through the Parliamentary system, this Bill has been criticised and deplored by the public, experts and even companies such as Google and Yahoo, all the while the government intent on getting it passed.
The uproar surrounding the Bill is due to one of its main agendas - to establish
stricter laws on copyrighted material being downloaded and shared over the internet. is is a fair point, as the artists and companies that have created the material lose money because their copyrighted material is being given out for free. The flip side of this is that some artists believe that as their music is spread for free, a greater audience will hear it and purchase other products such as merchandise or a ticket to a concert, therefore putting what money they would have used to buy a single or album back into the industry. Building on this, campaigners against the Bill said that it was far too radical and thus needed greater discussion.
The law, as it now stands as of the 8th of April now means that internet users caught illegally downloading music and videos will be cut o ff , and their names handed over to the copyright holders so that they can be sued for illegal use of their content. Internet service providers (BT,
Talk Talk etc) could be forced to block sites which contain illegal material. Th ose held accountable will be the account owners. This means that if someone, for whatever reason manages to use your wireless connection to illegally download any media will see your account blocked as a result of their actions.
Any law which changes the social environment so drastically would normally take far longer to go through Parliament; Select Committee hearings and discussions in the House of Commons lasting for months. This Bill was rushed through in a ‘wash-up’ period in the Houses before
Any law which changes the social environment so drastically would normally take far longer to go through Parliament; Select Committee hearings and discussions in the House of Commons lasting for months. This Bill was rushed through in a ‘wash-up’ period in the Houses before
the General Election closed Parliament, meaning that it did not receive as detailed an examination as other Bills do.
Over 20,000 people wrote to their MP’s in protest of the Bill’s content and its complexity. The Bill was, and is now as a law, thrown together and political pundits have said that it will cause more problems in the long run as people try and apply it to the many varied situations that can, and will, occur on the internet. Despite this, the Government has said “ The Digital Economy Bill has been extensively debated and scrutinised in the House of Lords, with seven days in Committee and three days in Report Stage”. They have claimed that articles of it were changed for the better during the stated stages and that it will benefi t those who legally download music,
Over 20,000 people wrote to their MP’s in protest of the Bill’s content and its complexity. The Bill was, and is now as a law, thrown together and political pundits have said that it will cause more problems in the long run as people try and apply it to the many varied situations that can, and will, occur on the internet. Despite this, the Government has said “ The Digital Economy Bill has been extensively debated and scrutinised in the House of Lords, with seven days in Committee and three days in Report Stage”. They have claimed that articles of it were changed for the better during the stated stages and that it will benefi t those who legally download music,
as well as the artists.
The key to this whole situation is the lack of public debate. The internet is a public domain where people are, within certain limits, allowed to do whatever they want. The Government suddenly changing that and ignoring all of the criticism is being viewed as yet another break in the trust the public puts into their MP’s. On the flip side however, those who download
content for free are breaking the law and it is for the government to make sure that
the law is enforced.
For now we will have to live with the law when it comes into eff ect sometime later this year. There is no doubt, though, that the debate will continue - in Parliament, on the streets and in the online forums
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