According to sources close to the Labour Government plans are afoot to roll out a major attack on online copyright theft and illegal filesharers, as part of new changes to the recently announced Digital Economy Bill.
Secretary of State Peter Mandelson is planning to introduce the changes to the Digital Economy Bill which would give him the power to make "secondary legislation" (legislation that is passed without debate) to change the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1988).
Mandelson also wants to shut down (or at the very least, curtail the activities of) sites such as YouSendIt that let you easily transfer large files to friends and colleagues privately.
Free speech fight
Should these rather drastic changes to the Digital Economy Bill go ahead then we are likely to see a fierce fight between the British Government and proponents of free speech.
Mandelson explains these changes as follows
1. The Secretary of State would get the power to create new remedies for online infringements (for example, he could create jail terms for file sharing, or create a "three-strikes" plan that costs entire families their internet access if any member stands accused of infringement).
2. The Secretary of State would get the power to create procedures to "confer rights" for the purposes of protecting rights holders from online infringement. (For example, record labels and movie studios can be given investigative and enforcement powers that allow them to compel ISPs, libraries, companies and schools to turn over personal information about Internet users, and to order those companies to disconnect users, remove websites, block URLs, and so on.)
3. The Secretary of State would get the power to "impose such duties, powers or functions on any person as may be specified in connection with facilitating online infringement". (For example, ISPs could be forced to spy on their users, or to have copyright lawyers examine every piece of user-generated content before it goes live; also, copyright "militias" can be formed with the power to police copyright on the web.)
Via boingboing.net
Your comments (6) Click to add a new comment
anteaus
January 12th 2010
6. A longstanding principle of UK justice is that private individuals or firms may not take the Law into their own hands.
Thus, giving record companies the power to seize data or investigate members of the public is unconstitutional and illegal. Only police or courts can be granted such powers.
-For that matter, how about giving 'live' musicians the power to seize record-company documents disclosing just how much of THEIR revenue is being 'stolen' by canned-music sales? Oops, guess they never thought of that aspect!
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lovlid
November 20th 2009
5. @ tech89
Is your paranoid little rant genuine? or are you a tory boy in disguise? Either way, answer me this, do you think your money centric, grubby little party will do anything different when the lobbyists start waving the cheque book about? If the slavering inbred idiots do get in, this kind of action will be worse.
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tech89
November 20th 2009
4. I say let Mr Mandleson enjoy is toy while he has it, his position will be gone soon, sinking with the shipwreck of HMS Labour, and good riddance to it. File sharing will live on! File sharing prevails! ISP's wouldn't dare to p*** off there customers and should stand up to government pressure. People should get the TOR Network up and running to a good strength again. It'll mean more innovation in encrypted networks. People do not like to be snooped on! To trawl through someones internet traffic is an invasion of privacy! I'm voting blue to get rid of labour and its ridiculous people and plans.
TO HELL WITH LABOUR AND MANDLESON AND BROWN!
Sorry about the caps, but I thought I picked up on the general thoughts of people.
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mpeskett
November 19th 2009
3. What was the statistic? 6 million filesharers in the country... thereabout anyway.
They can't possibly be planning to jail 10% of the population - the courts couldn't handle it, there's not enough room in the prisons and there'd be mass outcry against it. Simple not practicable.
So long as there are so many people involved, this is all empty noise... they might make a few examples, but they can't stem the tide of online infringement.
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martinb
November 19th 2009
2. This is Big Brother out of control and yet just shows how out of touch the Government is with modern technology. Professional Photographers are concerned by this bill, as the Government despite wanting to clamp down on those infringing copyright of films and music, it wants to remove Copyright for online images effectively removing the rights from photographers on where their images are used. So essentially a photo yo put on a social networking site or your blog could be used by all and sundry, without your say so.
This is nothing more than hypocrisy. It is time that this paranoid money grabbing government were shown that they are supposed to serve the electorate not have cart blanche control over everyones movements and actions.
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kristof
November 19th 2009
1. Preposterous plan, well it's gonna force us to use more encrypted and unknown for Government technics to transfer files.
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