Home

TheSinner.net

Digital Economy Bill

This message board is for discussing anything in any way remotely connected with St Andrews, the University or just anything you want. Welcome!

Digital Economy Bill

Postby munchingfoo on Tue Nov 24, 2009 3:06 pm

Anyone who uses the internet and is entitled to vote (that probably means you) should be very concerned by this bill. After reading the Bill here or an outline of it here I suggest you write to your local MP to ask them to oppose it.

There is a petition here.

The e-mail I have written to various MPs:

Dear xxx MP,

I write with regard to the Digital Economy Bill which was included in the government's Draft Legislative Programme for 2009/10 announced by the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, in the Commons on 29th June 2009 and subsequently included in the Queen's Speech on 18th November 2009. On the 19th of November the Bill was started in the House of Lords and is currently under its first reading.

I oppose some measures within this Bill which I feel erode both civil liberties and our current world-renowned legal system, without due cause. After reading the Bill, I feel you will draw the same conclusions and I would urge you, and you're party to oppose this Bill at every possible step.

The Bill allows conviction for offences without trial, something which I am sure you would not condone. The Bill is also open to abuse from hackers, who can bypass the rules and land others in trouble for their crimes. Furthermore, it is open to abuse from individuals who simply wish to deny another subscriber their internet access. The Bill also requires that ISP maintain records of internet activity by subscribers, something which I feel violates the Human Rights Act, as demonstrated by a recent high profile case.

I would welcome any change to the law that helps to detect and prosecute illegal file sharers, but this should never come at the cost of the freedom and liberty of innocent members of the public.

Yours Sincerely,
I'm not a large water-dwelling mammal Where did you get that preposterous hypothesis? Did Steve
munchingfoo
Moderator

 
Posts: 5108
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2002 2:09 pm

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby Haunted on Tue Nov 24, 2009 3:08 pm

You can use
http://www.writetothem.com/
to write to your MP.

Ming is pretty good at responding now he's not the party leader.
Genesis 19:4-8
Haunted
User avatar
 
Posts: 3171
Joined: Tue Dec 23, 2003 2:05 am

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby Senethro on Tue Nov 24, 2009 3:54 pm

Is this the thing with the Warezfinder General?
Senethro
 
Posts: 1796
Joined: Sat May 22, 2004 9:40 pm

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby Power Metal Dom on Tue Nov 24, 2009 4:25 pm

Petition signed, MP emailed. Is it only worth emailing my MP or are there others I can email? Also if anyone is going to copy & paste foo's text, make some changes and add your own stuff in there.
Aren't you all entitled to your half-arsed musings...You've thought about eternity for 25 minutes and think you've come to some interesting conclusions...My kind have harvested the souls of a million peasants and I couldn't give a ha'penny jizz for your internet assembled philosophy
Power Metal Dom
Moderator

User avatar
 
Posts: 1447
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 4:27 pm

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby jollytiddlywink on Tue Nov 24, 2009 10:53 pm

munchingfoo wrote:Anyone who uses the internet and is entitled to vote (that probably means you) should be very concerned by this bill. After reading the Bill here or an outline of it here I suggest you write to your local MP to ask them to oppose it.

There is a petition here.

The e-mail I have written to various MPs:

Dear xxx MP,

I write with regard to the Digital Economy Bill which was included in the government's Draft Legislative Programme for 2009/10 announced by the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, in the Commons on 29th June 2009 and subsequently included in the Queen's Speech on 18th November 2009. On the 19th of November the Bill was started in the House of Lords and is currently under its first reading.

I oppose some measures within this Bill which I feel erode both civil liberties and our current world-renowned legal system, without due cause. After reading the Bill, I feel you will draw the same conclusions and I would urge you, and you're party to oppose this Bill at every possible step.

The Bill allows conviction for offences without trial, something which I am sure you would not condone. The Bill is also open to abuse from hackers, who can bypass the rules and land others in trouble for their crimes. Furthermore, it is open to abuse from individuals who simply wish to deny another subscriber their internet access. The Bill also requires that ISP maintain records of internet activity by subscribers, something which I feel violates the Human Rights Act, as demonstrated by a recent high profile case.

I would welcome any change to the law that helps to detect and prosecute illegal file sharers, but this should never come at the cost of the freedom and liberty of innocent members of the public.

Yours Sincerely,


You should probably mention precisely which 'recent high-profile case' it is that you claim supports your argument. And I suggest that you don't write "you're party" when you mean to say "your party."
jollytiddlywink
 
Posts: 297
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2008 12:23 am

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby munchingfoo on Wed Nov 25, 2009 5:13 pm

As far as I'm aware, there has only been one recent (or perhaps even ever) high profile case regarding data storage on members of the public not suspected of committing a crime, to solve crimes, which concerns the Human Rights Act. Feel free to enlighten me if not...
I'm not a large water-dwelling mammal Where did you get that preposterous hypothesis? Did Steve
munchingfoo
Moderator

 
Posts: 5108
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2002 2:09 pm

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby theshadowhost on Thu Nov 26, 2009 10:16 am

not that i want to be a presumptuous bastard, but i will anyway: What the fuck does anyone in the house of lords know about the internet anyway? They probably have to get some 12 yr old relative to set-up their wireless hub and tune their digibox.

I did email my MP and sign the petition, and encourage others too aswell.
Image
theshadowhost
 
Posts: 319
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2004 3:22 pm
Location: St Andrews - Jack Cole Building

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby DACrowe on Fri Nov 27, 2009 12:47 am

theshadowhost wrote:They probably have to get some 12 yr old relative to set-up their wireless hub and tune their digibox.


Digiboxes; brought to you by Lord Sugar.
DACrowe
 
Posts: 216
Joined: Sun Aug 16, 2009 7:49 pm

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby theshadowhost on Fri Nov 27, 2009 8:38 am

1
Image
theshadowhost
 
Posts: 319
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2004 3:22 pm
Location: St Andrews - Jack Cole Building

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby munchingfoo on Sun Nov 29, 2009 11:53 pm

A reason why we may actually need to swing the law the other way...

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-104058 ... l?tag=digg
I'm not a large water-dwelling mammal Where did you get that preposterous hypothesis? Did Steve
munchingfoo
Moderator

 
Posts: 5108
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2002 2:09 pm

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby Humphrey on Mon Nov 30, 2009 11:37 am

Damn

Oh well, the piracy was fun while it lasted.
Humphrey
User avatar
 
Posts: 1265
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 8:29 pm

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby Power Metal Dom on Tue Mar 16, 2010 3:03 pm

Aren't you all entitled to your half-arsed musings...You've thought about eternity for 25 minutes and think you've come to some interesting conclusions...My kind have harvested the souls of a million peasants and I couldn't give a ha'penny jizz for your internet assembled philosophy
Power Metal Dom
Moderator

User avatar
 
Posts: 1447
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 4:27 pm

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby Haunted on Tue Mar 16, 2010 3:06 pm

Genesis 19:4-8
Haunted
User avatar
 
Posts: 3171
Joined: Tue Dec 23, 2003 2:05 am

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby wild_quinine on Wed Mar 17, 2010 9:38 am

Humphrey wrote:Oh well, the piracy was fun while it lasted.


The piracy isn't over, yet. It won't stop being called piracy until it's legal and approved, which I think is about ten or fifteen years away.

Ohhhh... you mean you think this law is going to stop people? Yeah. Not so much.

This is just a bad law made by desperate people with no understanding of economics or culture. I wouldn't let it worry you. It's going to be destroyed over the next couple of years, like any law that punishes people on the basis of baseless accusations ought to be in a democratic society.


Also,
wild_quinine
User avatar
 
Posts: 216
Joined: Sun May 10, 2009 11:57 pm

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby David Bean on Wed Mar 17, 2010 4:14 pm

I agree with Wild Quinine. As Joe Rogan often says, you can't stop the internet.

Notice that the recording and broadcasting industries have in the past made complaints and filed suits in attempts to stop VHS recordings, Tivos and MP3 players, and we can see where that got them. These corporate Luddites need to wake up to the fact that when a technology comes along that allows consumers to consume media in a way that suits their changing lifestyles, people will use and support it. Their challenge is to develop new business models that allow them to develop revenue streams based on the shifting preferences of their customers; their failure to adapt effectively is not a valid reason for trying to set the law up as a blunt instrument against consumers, whose actions are perfectly rational.

My own view is that the media industry will eventually develop along the lines of new services such as Spotify, which allow consumers access to whatever material they want, instantly and without the need for it to be downloaded, funded either by subscription or advertisement, or perhaps a combination of the two. After all, why would a customer want to bother downloading something illegally, when they knew they could access it remotely whenever they pleased, at a low cost to them and with the knowledge that they were supporting its creators?

Laws such as this one are nothing but an attempt to play King Canute, and hold back the waves of the future. It won't succeed. The real choice facing them is whether to adapt, or drown.
Psalm 91:7
David Bean
 
Posts: 3053
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby donpablo on Thu Mar 18, 2010 12:39 am

Stupid law indeed but it won't make a difference to the average person. Maybe I should be more bothered, but I can't say I ever use bittorrent.

The Dutch have the right idea... legalise it and it is no longer a problem :P
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRfluaMKoOY
donpablo
 
Posts: 136
Joined: Thu Aug 20, 2009 11:16 am

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby Power Metal Dom on Thu Apr 08, 2010 4:38 pm

Aren't you all entitled to your half-arsed musings...You've thought about eternity for 25 minutes and think you've come to some interesting conclusions...My kind have harvested the souls of a million peasants and I couldn't give a ha'penny jizz for your internet assembled philosophy
Power Metal Dom
Moderator

User avatar
 
Posts: 1447
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 4:27 pm

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby donpablo on Thu Apr 08, 2010 10:32 pm

donpablo
 
Posts: 136
Joined: Thu Aug 20, 2009 11:16 am

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby Duggeh on Fri Apr 09, 2010 3:39 am

Duggeh
User avatar
 
Posts: 2204
Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2004 2:49 pm
Location: Bookshop!

Re: Digital Economy Bill

Postby Freaker on Fri Apr 09, 2010 9:36 am

I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once.
Freaker
User avatar
 
Posts: 513
Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2005 2:27 pm
Location: China

Next

Return to The Sinner's Main Board

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 25 guests

cron