I seem to be turning into ‘Angry from Sheffield’.

Dear Angela Smith,
You recently replied to my enquiry regarding the Digital Economy Bill stating that you “believe in appropriate scrutiny of all Parliamentary business and would not make decisions on legislation out of haste or speed”.

I am now writing to you to urge you to live up to this statement by showing your support for the Early Day Motion being put forward by your colleague Austin Mitchell. He, and many other MPs wish to ensure that this proposed legislation is properly scrutinised and considered before being passed into law.

The possibility of this Bill becoming law via the ‘smoke-filled-rooms’ of the wash-up fills me with dread that we may have to live with the legacy of a badly formed law for years to come.

I hope you recognise that proper scrutiny on this matter is of paramount importance and that you can stand by your previous statements,

Yours sincerely,

Saul Cozens

I just used 38 Degrees to tell my MP, Angela Smith (Labour) that I am not happy that the Digital Economy Bill is being pushed through Parliament without proper debate.

I’ll let you know if/how she responds.

Dear Angela Smith,

I am writing to you again regarding the Digital Economy Bill that is currently being passed through Parliament.  I am extremely concerned that this extremely contentious and far-reaching legislation seems to be being hurried through Parliament with no real scrutiny.

This legislation will mean that ordinary law abiding citizens will receive threatening letters from their ISPs and some will have their internet connection cut-off without any proper recourse.

In addition, providers of public Wifi will withdraw their services due to fear of heavy fines because they are not able to identify alleged copyright infringers.  This will mean that thousands of people who use these services in public building, will no longer have the means to access vital information services.

All the while, copyright infringers will be mostly unaffected as the will simply use existing techniques to bypass the monitoring of their activity.

The Digital Economy Bill is ill-thought out and will not protect the interests of our creative industries. I ask you to insist that it is properly debated before it is passed into law.

I look forward to hearing whether you agree that such important legislation should be debated and discussed by you, our elected representatives, rather than being passed into law on a nod and a wink.

Regards

Dear Angela Smith,

Could you please let me know you position on the proposed Digital Economy Bill that was mentioned in the Queen’s speech.

I am extremely concerned that the interested of certain industries are being supported over the interests of the citizens of the UK.

In addition to stifling a communication tool that has the potential to increase community and political engagement, the DEB seems to be attacking democracy itself.

That the bill allows a person’s internet connection to be removed on the suspicion of wrong doing, with no proof required and no right to recourse or hearing in a court of law, runs counter to the long held British tenet of ‘innocent until proven guilty’.

In addition to this, the expected clause allowing a Minister to make changes to the terms of the Bill after it has been passed, without further discussion or debate by accountable and electable representatives is abhorrent.

I hope that you will tell me that you will be voting against this bill when it comes before the House of Commons. I would be pleased if you can tell me that you will speak out publically against it before then.

Yours sincerely,

Saul Cozens

I will post her response both here and on openrightsgroup.org

UPDATE: I have had a response from Angela Smith MP

Ms Smith has provided a stock cover letter and a canned response from Stephen Timms.  Although she has failed to answer my question and told me what her position on the Bill is, there is an obvious implied answer of ‘My position is whatever my party say it should be’.

A feel particularly patronised by Ms Smith’s offer to ‘keep me updated on the progress of this Bill’.

Although it probably futile, I will be replying to Ms Smith asking her clarify some specific points like:

• why the current copyright legislation cannot be used to take action against copyright thieves?
• why the record and film industries deserve special protection to cope with a change in their market conditions, particularly one that has been predicted for around 10 years?
• whether she believes that initiatives put in place to reduce online copyright infringement will have any impact and how any impact will be accurately measured.
• why the interests of the content distribution industries are important enough to warrant the reversal of the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ principle that our legal system is based on?

I think I might also ask whether she has thought about this bill and its impact on her constituents at all or if she really does intend to simply blindly vote as she is instructed.