The UK Government’s controversial broadband tax has been dropped, while illegal downloaders could soon be banned for life, as part of a new bill rushed through Parliament this week. The laws were passed in the final push to get the Government’s Digital Economy bill passed into law. The Bill was rushed through during the “washout” […]
The UK Government’s controversial broadband tax has been dropped, while illegal downloaders could soon be banned for life, as part of a new bill rushed through Parliament this week. The laws were passed in the final push to get the Government’s Digital Economy bill passed into law.
The Bill was rushed through during the “washout” period before Parliament is dissolved. The bill was passed by 189 votes to 47 after concessions were agreed that saw the Government dropping a clause which could have allowed it sweeping powers to block sites. A plan by the government to charge 50p month on all copper lines to fund superfast connections in more rural areas was one of the proposals that was cut. Meanwhile, legislation to disconnect or slow down the Web access of people who repeatedly infringe copyright law was left in the bill, which is likely to become law within days.
09/04/2010
A proposal to hand the high court powers to grant injunctions forcing ISPs to block access to online sites, was withdrawn. However, it was replaced by a government amendment which will effectively achieve the same outcome by different means.
Other clauses, including one that gives Ofcom the power to impose fines of up to £250,000 on ISPs who don’t act against persistent offenders, went through.
Digital Britain minister Stephen Timms told parliament the measures were a “proportionate” and “appropriate” method of tackling online piracy.
However, critics argue a parent could be made a criminal for a child’s actions, and could even be used to censor and block free speech by whichever political party is in power.
In addition, a plan to take money from the publicly funded BBC broadcaster to fund the creation of regional news for commercial broadcaster ITV appeared to have been halted, with the withdrawal of an item allowing the media regulator to appoint the news providers.
The digital economy bill is a piece of legislation designed to deal with a number of issues affecting the changing face of media in the UK. The proposals were drawn up as part of the Digital Britain report, which gave a range of suggestions to help the media and telecoms industry move into the digital age.
The bill aimed to:
– Overhaul the broadcasting industry
– Commence the radio switchover
– Ensure high-speed broadband access for all
– Deal with internet piracy
However, a lack of parliamentary time ahead of the general election fast-tracked several key measures in the bill, meaning a process that would normally involve several weeks or even months of legislative scrutiny was squeezed into a two-hour Commons debate last night, during which the rest of the bill was largely waved through by MPs.
The bill will now be sent to parliament’s upper house for approval and could be signed into law in the next couple of days, before parliament breaks up ahead of elections next month.
More information on the bill can be found here;
http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/digitalbritain/digital-economy-bill/
