Why we must kill the Digital Economy Bill

13. We the people have no say in the matter anyway. When was the last time government listened to people? The only people who can put pressure to bury this bill are the ISPs and even they are not being listened to.

There are powerful copyright holders who will not step down. If there are added costs because of this bill then the ISP will more likely try to absorb any extra cost without upping the price of broadband if they can help it.

Music is quite pricey, but dvds have become much more affordable after they're out a few months.

I download a film because of the 'try before you buy' principle. If it's a good one I'll buy it.

If the bill does pass then it will be watered down to bring minimum damage to ISPs and their users.

12. Has anyone even consider possible implications of this Bill? Here's something to think about:

1. Persistent offenders are going to move to encrypted secure services (secure proxies, VPNs, P2P clients that use encryption, the TOR protocol).

2. The exodus from current P2P clients to secure untraceable P2P systems will render Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) useless. Having spent over half a billion pounds (most likely much more than this) to implement DPI the government, copyright/entertainment lobbyists, and secret services are not going to be happy.

3. Because the secret services and the powerful entertainment industry/copyright lobbyists will have a common problem, it won't be long before the use of cryptography is banned and/or regulated. You will need to apply for a license to use encryption, and you will probably have to register your public and private keys (passwords etc) with a government body.

The time is coming when the government will be able to easily and effortlessly build up a digital persona/profile on every single one of its citizens. Whether or not this profile is accurate (due to shared connections) will be irrelevant. There will be a shift from "freedom is a God given right" to "if you have nothing to hide then you shouldn't mind the government spying on you and profiling you".

My concerns have everything to do with freedom and justice. Why should the owner of an Internet connection be held responsible for what his flatmates use the connection for? Why should an accusation by copyright holders be taken as proof of guilt unless proved otherwise? Why should anyone be given the right to look at your emails and Internet browsing content and habits? Why should the Secretary of State be given the power to modify the Act as he sees fit without going through the democratic parliamentary processes?

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing".

11. the opportunity was there for the industry to introduce voluntary codes of practise but instead they sat on their mattresses stuffed with cash. No they're crying like a baby about the bully government. I do think its bad law but they shouldn't be surprised. Look at the press, they learnt their lesson early on and established the PCC.

10. Have written to my MP(Tony Baldry) about the DEBill lots of times, at first I got answers on the lines of "thank you for bringing this to my attention, I appreciate your technical explanation". I.e. I didn't know about this and didn't understand it.

Then I got an email saying in essence "Don't worry the Bill will never pass in this session of parliament".

After this I have written many times and got no answer. He must be asleep.

9. @ScottGilbert - I don't think the government "not listening" really is the problem. There are industry experts (eg: http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/sky-virgin-and-talktalk-respond-to-digital-economy-bill-change-675082) who have made a strong case against the bill in its current form - and these are players who sell films/content to their customers, so they know what they're talking about! Look at it logically - who has a vested interest in this bill being enacted? Any "defence" will fall on deaf ears because there are a handful of powerful wealthy people who have a vested interested in this bill being passed (and who blindly and stupidly point the finger at illicit file-sharing as the cause of declining profits - it's nice to blame someone/something). This is one example of what happens in a "plutonomy" (CitiBank - 2005).

While I agree that it's important to sign petitions, I also feel that it is futile and that the decision has already been made (which is why this has been timed to go through the House of Commons during the "wash-up" period). There have been many reports of "leaked memos" detailing how the general sentiment among parliament and the ISPs is that this bill will be pushed through (http://www.boingboing.net/2010/03/12/leaked-uk-record-ind.html).

Common folks fail to see the significance of this bill. Most people use the Internet as something that enables them to view web pages, use chat programs, and send/receive emails. These same people have no regard for the freedom and democracy that runs through the backbone of the Internet. I for one don't like the idea of my online patterns being monitored, of my emails being read, of a profile being built up about the sites I visit. This bill (Act) represents the "thin edge of the wedge" - before we know it the Internet will be so controlled that we will be fed whatever the powers the be want to feed us.

Personally I've had enough. I truly believe that boycotting the purchase of DVDs and music for an entire month would be an effective way to fight back. Would it be able to reach a critical mass? I'm not sure. People are more interested in who's leading in X Factor or Celeb Big Brother than they are about decisions that will impact their lives (and the lives of their children).

8. The problem is that there is no one organising a proper defence that the gov. are willing to listen to.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/list/open?cat=758

Sign up to these petitions

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/clause17/

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/wwwrestrictions/

7. Do you honestly believe that writing to a politician is going to make a difference? Have the actions of this government taught you nothing about the complicity between the government and corporate Britain/America? The bill has already been passed by the House of Lords, it's now just a "wash-up" formality:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/7456166/Digital-Economy-Bill-approved-by-House-of-Lords.html

This bill was carefully drafted and timed to coincide with the parliamentary "wash-up process" (which is where they push things through without much debate or consideration while parliament is dissolved).

I agree strongly with everything David O'Sullivan has written. I have never purchased a CD or DVD in my entire life, and I can honestly say that I have never downloaded a movie or documentary (if you exclude watching BBC iPlayer or 4oD). Why? Because I simply can't afford it. I'm not some high flying professional (banker, politician) who has surplus cash at the end of each month. I struggle from month to month (I'm currently working on an iPhone app to hopefully get me back on top of my finances).

We are living in unbelievable times: we have a government that refuses to listen to its people, 1% of the population controlling 95% of the wealth, civil liberties being taken from us like candy from a kid, the government is racking up an extraordinary debt that us tax-payers will have to pay for (one estimate is as high as £8,000 per tax-payer). Unfortunately, we are all of the same mind: "...there's nothing I can do about it...".

I suggest this: each and every one of us boycotts the purchase of any media (music, films, whatever) for a month - starting on the 1st of April 2010. I suggest we go even further - don't watch TV too!!

Once this passes and becomes legislation, it's going to be impossible (and expensive) to undo it. In case anyone doesn't yet realise it - the proposed enforcement mechanism of this proposed Act is DPI, or Deep Packet Inspection. In short, software will be used to view your Internet traffic (this includes your emails!!!). Is there anyone out there who believes this will not be abused by the powers that be? Anyone?

In April 2010 - DO NOT PURCHASE ANY FORM OF MEDIA! Let the government know that we're sick and tired of being treated this way...

6. There's a petition here. It only has 71 votes though:

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Digital-Economy/

5. done and done

4. The major flaw in the governments and record companies argument (and also that of any content providers) is that they assume that every illegal download amounts to a lost sale. This is simply not the case. I have not watched broadcast TV for years and am now totally used to the convenience of watching what I want when I want. I watch a number of TV shows which whilst they may be showing on TV are often not on iPlayer or similar and are not available on DVD. The current argument goes that If I could not download these illegally I would have to buy them. Well I would not, I would just start watching broadcast Tv again for free.

The same goes for music, if I could not download I would just listen to the radio alot more (and record the chart show like I did when I was a kid). I would not buy more music if I could not download.

Downloading or before downloading I have only ever bought a couple of DVDs a year and gone to the cinema maybe once every couple of months. This has not changed. What has changed is that I now download movies I am interested in rather than watching DVD's that friends own or films that are on TV. If I could not download I would simply go back to doing this and as a result not discover movies I would have never paid to watch and have subsequently bought on DVD as a keepsake.

I think that even if these plans do succeed in stamping out downloading (which they wont) the industry is in for a massive shock- they will not suddenly be selling everything that is currently being downloaded. In fact if my experience is anything like typical, they will sell less because people like me will not find new things they fall in love with (and therefore buy) because they will not be able to afford to branch out and experiment.

Quite simply there needs to be a massive ground shift in opinion here. Copyright owners need to stop thinking that every download is a lost sale and instead start seeing it as an opportunity to gain another fan.

3. FWIW (I'm Gary) I wrote to my MP before writing the column :)

2. +1.

1. Done.