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Digital Economy Bill Passed In the UK

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the now-everyone-is-happy dept.

Grey Loki writes "The UK government forced through the controversial digital economy bill with the aid of the Conservative party last night, attaining a crucial third reading – which means it will get royal assent and become law – after just two hours of debate in the Commons."

9 of 384 comments (clear)

  1. It was a farce... by kazade84 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Everyone that watched the debate last night was pretty horrified at how broken the "wash up" process was, and how obviously this bill was pushed through by the front benches without the support of the backbench MPs present. Labour were responsible for 97% of the MPs that gave a yes vote, because those Labour MPs that didn't would have faced severe consequences, perhaps even eviction from the party. Some rebel Labour MPs did vote against, Tom Watson leading them, this guy deserves serious respect for standing up for what he believes despite the pressure.

    The election is coming and we need to take away power from these corrupt parties (the other two major parties are hardly blameless, although the Liberal Democrats did at least vote against). Support the Open Rights Group and also support the Pirate Party UK who are currently raising money to field candidates. You can donate to the Pirate Party here if you are so inclined: http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/party/donate/

    My MP voted for the bill, so I'm going to vote against in the next election, I'd urge people to do the same, find out if your MP voted and which way by going here: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmtoday/cmdebate/32.htm#hddr_2

    1. Re:It was a farce... by PeterBrett · · Score: 5, Interesting

      You can also read our manifesto and see a list of our PPCs -- maybe we're running a candidate in your area?

      --
      Pirate Party UK
    2. Re:It was a farce... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The authoritarian/self-interested always win because the liberal/idealistic always factionalise. Those who believe they're taking the moral high ground will break away over minor details, while anyone who cares only about number one is prepared to compromise while there's strength in numbers.

      So, why don't you take a leaf from the successful and lobby the Liberal Democrats? They're already far closer to you than Lab/Con.

    3. Re:It was a farce... by tdobson · · Score: 5, Informative

      As a PPUK PPC, I'm more than happy to answer any questions Slashdotters have about PPUK, our policies or how much The Digital Economy Bill sucks...

      Here's a bit about me:
      http://thenextweb.com/uk/2010/04/08/pirate-party-uk/
      http://www.tdobson.net/node/409

    4. Re:It was a farce... by TheRaven64 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      More importantly, the Liberal Democrats are heavily pushing electoral reform, and have been for several decades. Now the two major parties are looking like they will accept it after the next election too. In my constituency, labour won the last election by about 10% of the popular vote. Their old candidate is standing down and they are dropping in someone who just lost his seat and was one of the worst offenders in the expenses scandal, so it seems pretty unlikely that they will win next time. Conservatives only got 16% last time, but the Lib Dems look like they've got a chance, and I only mildly disagree with them.

      I agree much more with Plaid Cymru and the Green Party, but between them they only got 8.7% of the votes last time. Neither stands a chance of getting in this time, so a vote for them would be wasted. Meanwhile, Plaid has around a quarter of the Welsh EU parliament and Welsh Assembly seats. With a proportional representation system, a vote for them would be worthwhile. With an STV or AV system, I could vote for them first and Lib Dems second.

      I don't especially want to vote for the Lib Dems, but I do want to vote against Labour and the Conservatives. Hopefully this time we can get a hung parliament and the Lib Dems can push through some electoral reforms. Then I can vote for a party that I actually want next time.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    5. Re:It was a farce... by Yvanhoe · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The pirate parties usually don't see themselves on the political axis. They just call for sane laws. This is (this should) be non-partisan. Pirate parties exist only because none of the regular parties accepts internet and its new freedom for speech and sharing as an opportunity.

      This is not about left vs right, this is about technical sound laws vs impossible laws that will make everyone waste valuable time.

      --
      The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
  2. Just look at this bloody room... by RadioElectric · · Score: 5, Interesting

    http://cheezburger.com/View.aspx?aid=3386761984 What a farce!

  3. Can the MP's be accused? by VShael · · Score: 5, Interesting

    And their families, their friends, their secretaries, their PA's?

    They need to feel the pinch of this insane law. And fast.

  4. Re:can somebody explain by ZombieWomble · · Score: 5, Informative
    It contains many internet-unfriendly provisions. The two biggies though:

    A "Three-strikes"-equivalent law for filesharers is still in (without trial), and the text of the bill can be ready to imply that it will be ISPs responsible for ensuring that their networks aren't used to infringe copyright - effectively mandating monitoring of all internet traffic at a much greater level than is currently done.

    There is also a provision which allows the Secretary of State (with the approval of a court, to allow a tiny bit of balance) to require the blocking of any websites which are involved in the infringement of copyright. Or, indeed, may be used in infringement of copyright. When asked if this would include sites such as Wikileaks, ministers said yes, it would, as the material they leak is copyrighted by its original owners. They were quick to point out that they wouldn't use it to infringe on freedom of speech though.

    Yep, I feel real safe with that reassurance.

    Other aspects of the bill are actually reasonable, there's just a handful of provisions that are really quite shockingly draconian.