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Beginning of the end for the Internet in the UK
Often lauded as the 'CCTV state' and 'the most surveilled country in the world', the UK may soon deliver a killing blow to the Internet as we know it. Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing is reporting some leaked legislation from the UK government that would remove any kind of freedom or privacy that the Internet grants its users.The proposed amendments to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act would allow the Secretary of State (or 'Pirate-Finder General') to alter the law on an ad-hoc basis without approval by Parliament (the UK's Senate).
Cory goes on to site the potential repercussions of these proposed changes:
1. Immediate remedies for copyright infringement -- jail sentences and removal of Internet access can be meted out purely at the discretion of an unelected official (that is most likely under the sway and pay of media lobby groups).
2. The raising of pirate-hunting militia -- the Secretary of State could "confer rights" to music labels and movie studios to help them protect their works. It would be within the rights of the copyright owners to compel ISPs, schools and businesses to hand over details of those using their network for 'nefarious' purposes.
3. Pirate-hunting duties could be forced upon ISPs -- not merely content with perusing ISP records, the Secretary of State could force ISPs to act as gatekeepers. You can imagine how it might impact your surfing experience if a copyright lawyer is forced to peruse each and every one of your emails to check for plagiarism...
Cory goes on to cite other implications, but you should probably just go and read the article itself. And as he says, if you're a Brit, or even if you know a Brit -- this is serious news. You can't really expect something like this to make it through government... but really... who knows?
[via Boing Boing]
Comments
20
Subscribe to commentsRGNov 19th 2009 12:07PM
I have said it before (not on DS of course) and I will say it again. If such laws even gets within a mile of passing the people who voted for such 'representatives' should look in the mirror first.
Sebastian AnthonyNov 19th 2009 12:11PM
I think the problem is more the fact that we have ancient politicians that are just plain out of touch.
I can't imagine we'd be having the same issues if our Senate and Parliament were filled with 30 year olds...
(I can't wait for 10 years in the future when all representatives will have grown up with video games and Internet access...)
minibarNov 19th 2009 2:21PM
You're correct that the proposed bill advocates inquisition in all but name. Though I'm not a scholar on U.K. law or history, when you start with the U.K. brand of open 100% internet surveillance, this almost seems an inevitable consequence because when the government has the ability to know all, it necessarily becomes complicit, and naturally wants to defend itself.
In your comment you imply first the larger issue is generational knowledge and then you lean toward technological savvy. Neither alone is correct, and suggesting otherwise is delusion. This is about rights of content providers and consumers, which is boring, not about technology or youth, and in flux for the foreseeable future so there's no moral high ground. If this didn't target p2p it would be vhs or film--note that screeners often begin or at some point transfer to those technologies, and whatever generation in ascendancy is simply a bystander. Youth are increasingly empowered at younger ages, which means this generation will be behind the curve faster than they expect, and the next will be just as self-righteous. This generation has the power to affect change, but they seem too timid to exercise it.
Great post, though.
Sebastian AnthonyNov 19th 2009 3:27PM
Politics has never been my forte... always thought it was a bit 'arcane', which is sad considering it affects so many people in such a fundamental fashion.
Glad ya agree in general though!
IC70Nov 24th 2009 3:06AM
@RG
"the people who voted for such 'representatives' should look in the mirror first."
Well yes except that the idiot behind this (Lord Mandelson) wasn't elected, he's a peer. He came back from a vacation with some media moguls in Corfu in July and overturned the findings of a two year investigation by the government and a 200 page report and tabled this draconian legislation instead. Need I say more?
Kris120890Nov 19th 2009 12:19PM
I doubt these will become official but it scares me that we have people running this country that are just out of touch with the rest of us. There isn't anyone to vote for.
Can't vote for labour for obvious reasons. Can't vote for conservatives because they're worse than labour and cameron is the last person that should be in power and the liberals are just not ready for anything.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Sebastian AnthonyNov 19th 2009 12:21PM
Ah... Politics.
Yeah. It's retarded. Politicians -- at least when it comes to technology, which let's face it is a vast portion of contemporary society -- haven't a clue.
r3loadedNov 19th 2009 12:41PM
C'mon, give the LibDems a chance - they're the only ones who are serious about stopping these blatant human rights infringements. I've never understood why the British public seem so unwilling to ever vote for them. "Not ready" for what exactly?
Ultimately, I think Mandelson is becoming even more toxic for the Labour party than Gordon Brown.
Crazy SerbNov 19th 2009 12:20PM
It's not the politicians who are out of touch with reality alone... a lot of it has to do with the fact that they are politicians to begin with, the first and most obvious targets for lobby groups and funky "funding" and "donations" lining up their pockets if they swing their votes a certain way.
;)
Sebastian AnthonyNov 19th 2009 12:22PM
That sounds vaguely like a call for anarchy...
RGNov 19th 2009 12:24PM
I am not sure out of touch ever equates "to alter the law on an ad-hoc basis without approval by Parliament "
Sebastian AnthonyNov 19th 2009 12:52PM
From what I understand, such statutes (law being enacted immediately) exist for other purposes -- the problem here is treating copyright infringement on the same level as terrorism or something :)
RGNov 19th 2009 12:58PM
@Sebastian Thanx. Either way I hope the next generation of politician, you alluded to earlier, do the right things.
FaraNov 19th 2009 1:15PM
Lauded? Really? Since when is "CCTV State" something good?
Sebastian AnthonyNov 19th 2009 1:16PM
There are many people that like the idea of a police state...! :P
Crazy SerbNov 19th 2009 2:42PM
Yeah, those in control of it.
FaraNov 19th 2009 3:06PM
We call those people Fascists.
feraligatr8Nov 19th 2009 7:01PM
Thats bullshiT! (excuse my language)
SimonTNov 26th 2009 11:16AM
If anyone thinks something like this wouldn't ever happen, look up the "Dangerous Pictures Act". A nasty piece of legislation forced through last year which means its now illegal in the UK to merely own (or have on your hard drive) certain BDSM images, which is punishable by jail and listing as a sex offender.
This is despite the fact theyre staged by consenting adults and perfectly legal in the rest of Europe. All because our elected peers think we should not be looking at such depravity that is freely available in other countries, so wish to frighten us into behaving the way they want.
Similarly it will soon be illegal in the UK to posses sexually explicit cartoons IF the persons in them APPEAR to be under 18, which means they'll be carting all the Japanese anime/manga fans off to the gulags in the near future then. All because they find these images "disgusting", not that theres any harm involved (how the hell do you tell the age of a cartoon character anyway?).
So these latest draconian proposals don't surprise me in the slightest!
Sebastian AnthonyNov 26th 2009 11:17AM
Thanks for the input!
The only thing that leaves me feeling fairly confident (and safe, with my vast collection of nasty porn) is that it's unfeasible to police that kind of thing.
At least for now... :/