Law

Like at least 11,000 other people in the UK, I've also written to my MP about the appalling Digital Economy Bill and the current proposal that it will become law without even any real debate.

For those that read my blog regularly, you might remember the letter that I wrote to Steve McCabe, the guy campaigning to be my new MP, back when these proposals were under consultation in August of last year.

In his response, he said:

I share your concern that the proposal to cut off internet access doesn't sound that practical and I also note that you may be right that the large industry producers are exerting too much influence. I have been in touch with the department and raised your concerns as well as those of an number of other constituents. I am hopeful that any eventual solutions will address the concerns you have raised.

Today, as it's nearing crunch time, I received this email from the organisers of one of the campaigns. Rather than forward it around as suggested, I thought I'd post it on here.

Dear Peter,

Together we're building the pressure on the Government not to rush through the Digital Economy Bill. 11,000 of us have now written to our MPs opposing the Government's plans to force it through as a "fast track" bill before the election.

We're making the case that proposals to give the government far-reaching powers to cut people's internet connections and restrict public wifi need proper scrutiny and debate. There are signs that MPs and the media have noticed our opposition and are starting to listen. [1]

We need to prove to MPs that public opposition to these plans being rushed through is overwhelming. The more of us that write to our MP this week, the more chance we have of winning.

Please help. Forward this email and ask your friends to tell their MP why they're worried about rushing the Digital Economy Bill into law. They just have to click here to get started, it takes just two minutes:
http://www.38degrees.org.uk/digital-economy-bill

In just a few weeks MPs are hoping we'll vote for them in the General Election. That gives us an opportunity to persuade them not to force through these draconian new internet laws - if we can convince them it's unpopular, they'll think twice about doing it just before they have to face their voters.

Opposition is growing. Web giants like Google, Yahoo, BT and TalkTalk oppose the plans. So do consumer groups, civil rights groups and digital freedom groups. A people-powered avalanche of emails could just be enough to stop the government from forcing these measures into law.

Please click forward now and ask your friends to tell their MP why rushing through draconian internet laws is wrong. They just need to click on this link to get started:
http://www.38degrees.org.uk/digital-economy-bill

Thanks for getting involved,

Johnny, David, Hannah, Nina and the 38 Degrees Team

Notes
[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/mar/17/digital-economy-bi...

So, I'd strongly urge you to do the same right now.

In case you're interested in reading more, there's now a vast amount of opinion and commentary on the Internet and in the press about this bill, but I've found this article from the Guardian quite informative and Penny Red's blog post about it particularly salient.