Posts tagged UK

Britain’s new Internet law — as bad as everyone’s been saying, and worse. Much, much worse.

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The British government has brought down its long-awaited Digital Economy Bill, and it’s perfectly useless and terrible. It consists almost entirely of penalties for people who do things that upset the entertainment industry (including the “three-strikes” rule that allows your entire family to be cut off from the net if anyone who lives in your house is accused of copyright infringement, without proof or evidence or trial), as well as a plan to beat the hell out of the video-game industry with a new, even dumber rating system (why is it acceptable for the government to declare that some forms of artwork have to be mandatorily labelled as to their suitability for kids? And why is it only some media? Why not paintings? Why not novels? Why not modern dance or ballet or opera?).

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/20/britains-new-interne.html

UK Anti-Piracy Plans Slammed By Liberal Democrats

Details of Lord Mandelson’s draconian pro-copyright plans contained in the Digital Economy Bill leaked out yesterday, provoking a wave of dissent. The Liberal Democrats have now made a statement, voicing dismay at this “utterly shameless” attempt to introduce major rules without proper Commons assessment.

http://torrentfreak.com/uk-anti-piracy-plans-slammed-by-liberal-democrats-091120/

Leaked UK government plan to create “Pirate Finder General”

Secretary of State Peter Mandelson is planning to introduce changes to the Digital Economy Bill now under debate in Parliament. These changes will give the Secretary of State (Mandelson — or his successor in the next government) the power to make “secondary legislation” (legislation that is passed without debate) to amend the provisions of Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1988).

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/19/breaking-leaked-uk-g.html

http://torrentfreak.com/uks-terrifying-anti-piracy-plans-leak-091119/

UK surveillance plan to go ahead

The Home Office says it wants to change the law to compel communication service providers (CSPs) to collect and retain records of communications from a wider range of internet sources, from social networks through to chatrooms and unorthodox methods, such as within online games.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8350660.stm