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dennyFOR THE ATTENTION OF:
Lord Clement-Jones
House of Lords
Wednesday 3 March 2010
Dear Lord Clement-Jones,
I am writing with reference to your proposed amendment 120a to the Digital Economy Bill. I could not believe my eyes when I saw that this amendment was being co-sponsored by somebody from the Liberal Democrats, who have to date been responsible for the vast majority of the sensible objections and amendments to this bill.
Although Clause 17 does need removing, it does not need replacing with a power which seems to be highly similar to the USA's DMCA - a law which has been used repeatedly by large companies and other wealthy organisations to stifle the free speech of individuals... and this in a country which actually has constitutional protection of free speech, which is more than can be said for the UK.
I urge you to reconsider your support for this amendment. I realise that it is couched in language which seems to require a fair balance of evidence before action is taken, but in practise such a law will be easy for large companies with deep pockets to invoke, and hard for small companies and individuals to defend themselves against.
For some examples of how the DMCA is being used in practise, please use Google to search for 'dmca takedown free speech', and then think about how these same problems could apply to your amendment.
Yours sincerely,
[...]
(http://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/2010/conservatives-and-lib-dems-push-web-blocking)
Lord Clement-Jones
House of Lords
Wednesday 3 March 2010
Dear Lord Clement-Jones,
I am writing with reference to your proposed amendment 120a to the Digital Economy Bill. I could not believe my eyes when I saw that this amendment was being co-sponsored by somebody from the Liberal Democrats, who have to date been responsible for the vast majority of the sensible objections and amendments to this bill.
Although Clause 17 does need removing, it does not need replacing with a power which seems to be highly similar to the USA's DMCA - a law which has been used repeatedly by large companies and other wealthy organisations to stifle the free speech of individuals... and this in a country which actually has constitutional protection of free speech, which is more than can be said for the UK.
I urge you to reconsider your support for this amendment. I realise that it is couched in language which seems to require a fair balance of evidence before action is taken, but in practise such a law will be easy for large companies with deep pockets to invoke, and hard for small companies and individuals to defend themselves against.
For some examples of how the DMCA is being used in practise, please use Google to search for 'dmca takedown free speech', and then think about how these same problems could apply to your amendment.
Yours sincerely,
[...]
(http://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/2010/conservatives-and-lib-dems-push-web-blocking)
