Simply put, the Act imposes disproportionate, collective punishment and does not follow the principle of innocent until proven guilty, contravening the Magna Carta, which in 1215 stated that, as a basic human right, no person may be punished without a fair trial.

In summary, the Digital Economy Act is a massive insult to our civil liberties and I, and many others, believe that the Government should repeal it in its entirety in the upcoming Freedom Bill as a matter of urgency, with the less objectionable clauses being redrafted and discussed democratically in the Houses of Parliament to pave the way for a proper digital economy which does not punish innocent people.

If you also support the repeal of the Digital Economy Act, please consider registering with YourFreedom, the Government’s initiative to get everyday people involved in restoring and defending freedom and civil liberties, and rating my suggestion to repeal the Act.

I’m where I have been since noon (less the hour I took off to get food shopping for the week and eat something) – sat in front of a computer, entering canvass data into EARS, the database system that many Liberal Democrats groups use, ready for the last few mailshots before The Big Day.

It’s at times like this that I begin to wonder if I need an activism off-switch.

At first, it was mind-numbing, and it feel like my brain was turning to mush and dripping out of my ears, but now I know all the keyboard shortcuts and can do it without even looking at the screen, and it’s almost fun.

…which perhaps reinforces the point about the off-switch.

• Register to vote. Make sure you do this by April 20th 2010.
• Join the Open Rights Group! They are a digital rights advocacy group who aim to “preserve and promote your rights in the digital age”.
• Join Democracy Club, a group of volunteers dedicating time to holding electoral candidates to account.
• Thank and/or campaign for the 32 MPs standing in the General Election who voted against the Bill.
• If your MP voted for the Digital Economy Bill, write to them and ask them why.
• Check out how your MP voted before you cast your ballot.
• Join ORG’s campaign meetings on Thursday evenings, either in person or by dialling into the conference call. (You will be welcomed regardless of whether you’re a member or not, whatever your political affiliation, as long as you want to fight this legislation.

If you have any further suggestions, please add them in the comments.

The Digital Economy Bill passed tonight, less clauses 18 (on website blocking) and 43 (on orphan rights). Just 47 MPs voted against the Bill; I’d like to offer special kudos to Tom Watson for breaking whip for the first time, even in the face of a three line whip.
Parliament’s website shows that Royal Assent comes next but it is, effectively, British law.

The fight is not over, mind. I don’t know where we go from here just yet, but I know that parts of this Bill are deeply, deeply wrong, and I won’t rest until Clauses 11-17 are gone for good.

The Digital Economy Bill received it’s second reading in Parliament yesterday, and will be further discussed later on this evening. It’s been ten weeks since I first wrote to my MP, Nick Raynsford, asking how he felt on the issue, and have so far received two replies, both of which have evaded the question. I’ve already written about the first of these; the second letter, received yesterday, told me that he was sorry he hadn’t been able to meet me at one of his surgeries and also that I was dissatisfied with his original letter, and that he would not sign Early Day Motion 1223 as he does not consider EDMs in general a sensible method of highlighting concerns.

Of course, my not being in London for his surgeries is, if anybody’s, my fault; however, his office refused me an appointment at Westminster because they don’t require constituents to travel to Parliament to meet Mr Raynsford. I pointed out several times that I was quite happy to come to his offices, but still I was met with refusal.

I spoke to someone from his office today about the second reading and continued debate tonight, asking why he was not in Commons last night and again, for his opinion on the Bill. I was told that he actually was in the Commons for last night’s debate, though a fellow constituent in #openrightsgroup on IRC tells me that they recognise him, and didn’t see him on the parliamentlive.tv video and so whilst he might have been there, he seriously doubts it.

I also told them that I was quite keen to hear Mr Raynsford’s opinion of the Bill as human rights, which I believe the Bill affects, is an important issue to me and affects how I vote. The member of staff told me, in not so many words, that he didn’t believe me, due to my candidacy in local elections as a Liberal Democrat, and whilst it’s true that I do not feel much desire to vote Labour locally or nationally at this stage, I am always open to having my mind changed. There’s also the crucial point that I am not standing against Mr Raynsford as a PPC: I am standing as a local councillor, and there’s a pretty big difference between the two. You’d think (hope?) that someone working for an MP would know that kind of thing…

You never know, one day before I have to cast my vote, I might just get to hear how Mr Raynsford feels about punishing people without a fair trial. I won’t be holding my breath, though.

Whilst my plan for the day had been to sit in the public gallery of the Houses of Commons to hear the second reading of the Digital Economy Bill, which I’ve been working on a campaign against for the last four months, it was actually my first day in a new job as a campaigns intern for the Islington Liberal Democrats, so I spent the day at their headquarters in North London, helping prepare campaign materials for the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate in Islington South, Bridget Fox. The office was buzzing, but the most exciting thing of the day for me came after work (and I’m not talking about the Chilango’s burrito I picked up on the way home…).

This evening, I signed a big pile of forms for the Greenwich Borough Liberal Democrats, and I will soon be a candidate in next month’s local council election myself.

I’m reminded of when I first announced that I’d been elected onto the Union Council at university, and someone told me “when you’re an MP, I’ll say I’ll knew you when…” and I laughed and said I’d never get that ingrained in politics. I suppose it never quite works like you plan, does it?

Supporters of the Open Rights Group were called to arms again today, this time in Soho, Central London.

After meeting people at Tottenham Court Road Tube station, we dished out maps and police helmets and sent them over to British Music House, where shortly afterwards, I arrived with other ORG staff and the large disconnection notice for delivering to Mr Sharkey.

Sadly, shortly after we arrived, the doors were closed on us and we weren’t able to give the notice to Feargal himself, so we held a short photocall and left it on the doorstep for him.

(If you haven’t seen the videos of last week’s protest yet, take a look now: ORG’s is on YouTube, and a supporter uploaded their footage to Vimeo!)

In the last two months, I have sent several emails requesting that response, exchanged many phonecalls and waiting at Westminster for an hour waiting to speak to him or somebody from his office, to no avail – I’m beginning to wonder if he’s avoiding me..!

Still, I have tried once more with another email:

I have learnt this morning that there is an Early Day Motion which states that the Bill is too important to be passed during wash-up and that it should be debated properly by the new Parliament, who can scrutinise it in detail, allowing it to pass through law democratically.

The full text EDM can be found here:

http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=40883&SESSION=903

If you support this, as I sincerely hope you do, I would like you to sign this motion. If you do not, I would appreciate an explanation as to why, along with your opinions of the Bill generally and how you intend to vote (particularly on Clauses 11-18) should it come to it.

We’re turning it around on Thursday. We’ll be presenting a heartfelt gesture of thanks to the people who brought you the tragi-comedy that is the Digital Economy Bill – but we need your help.

Please help us give them a thank you by joining a small protest for your lunch hour – our Top Secret flashmob. We can’t reveal precisely what we’re doing or where yet, except to say that we’ll meet you nearby.

Once again, we’ll have the placards and the leaflets: just bring yourself and some black tape to censor yourself with.

Meeting point: Central London. Exact location TBA – get a free ticket and we’ll let you know.
Date: Thursday 1st April 2010
Time: 12:20pm

Please help us give a big thank you to the people who brought you the UK’s biggest joke this year…

There are two ways to get the details as we release them:

• Order a ticket on Eventbrite
• RSVP as an attendee or a maybe on Facebook

Despite this, and thousands of letters directed at her from members of the public, I watched from the House of Commons public gallery this morning as Harriet Harman unequivocally told Members and the public that whilst she recognised that letting legislation pass without debate is a bad thing, she felt the Digital Economy Bill to contain important clauses and so it would be eligible for debate during wash-up.

It now seems likely that the Digital Economy Bill will be debated on Tuesday 6th April, which is likely to be the day Gordon Brown asks the Queen for permission to dissolve Parliament in readiness for the General Election, meaning that this entire potentially very damaging Bill will have a matter of hours discussion.

If your MP, like mine, has told you that the Bill won’t be discussed due to time constraints, it’s time to write back and call them on that. We have a matter of weeks, and I’m going to be spending every minute I can fighting this thing. Are you?

The UK Government is currently trying to push through legislation which threatens to disconnect people from the Internet for infringing copyright – that is, downloading music and films illegally – and the Open Rights Group have organised a protest against the Bill this evening near the Houses of Parliament in London.

Disconnection from the Internet is a seriously disproportionate punishment: if a person is caught fare-dodging on the buses, we don’t ban their entire family from using the bus for an unspecified length of time because they may need the bus – yet an Internet connection is seen as disposable. Perhaps it is to some people, but to others, it’s a necessity, required for school or university work, careers, jobhunting and staying in touch with far away friends and relatives.

It’s not just innocent families that will lose their connection either: libraries, educational institutions and other public wifi providers such as coffee shops and bars are likely to be hit – threatened with monetary fines in addition to disconnection, many of them will stop providing Internet access, and as a result, lose customers to larger chains who can afford the risk.

We realise that copyright infringement is a problem, and we’re not opposing the Digital Economy Bill because we’re freeloaders who want to protect our downloads: the Internet promotes freedom of expression and helps us to study, work and communicate, and losing it means losing some of our fundamental human rights.

So, for Ada Lovelace Day 2010, I want to celebrate all the women who will be joining me at that protest. Thankyou for helping us stand up for our rights.

I’ve responded to Mr Raynsford, explaining to him that:

• I don’t buy his claim that he didn’t reply to my letter for over six weeks because he was waiting for a reply, because my original question was how he personally felt about the Bill. I didn’t want a response from Peter Mandelson, because I know how he feels already: if he didn’t support the proposals, he surely would not have submitted them in the first place.
• I also don’t buy his claim that he couldn’t scrutinise the Bill properly: I have been perfectly able to do so myself online for many months, and I have been paying attention to the Lords debates on the subject to find out which amendments passed and which didn’t; if I can do that, there is no reason for him not to be able to, especially knowing that his constituents have concerns about the Bill.
• As he failed to tell me how he personally felt about the Digital Economy Bill, he did not answer my question.
• That I am even more concerned about the Digital Economy Bill than I was before, because whilst he thinks it will not be passed, many campaigning organisations, and myself, believe that the Government will rush it through without proper debate before Parliament dissolves.

I have asked for another reply in which he answers my question and assures me that he will demand the Digital Economy Bill is properly debated at his earliest convenience. I hope it takes less than 7 weeks this time.

Write to your MP to ensure that this doesn’t happen – 38 Degrees and the Open Rights Group have teamed up to make it really easy: all you have to do is tell them your postcode, name and email address, and you can join over 10,000 people who have already written to their MPs.  Make your voice heard – do it now!

Why Should I Care?

Consumers and companies (including Google, Facebook and Internet Service Providers themselves) alike are up in arms about the Bill, which proposes that an Internet connection could be cut off if there is suspicion that it is being used for the downloading of copyrighted content.  Whilst this may seem fair on the surface, it is in fact very disturbing:

• Although proof is required before disconnection, the evidence does not have to relate to you: you can be punished for the actions of a friend or even a neighbour who has used your Internet connection.
• Rights holders would have the power to demand that sites they believe to contravene copyright law be blocked by ISPs.
• It is not the perpetrator that is punished, as you might expect, but the owner of the connection, and others using it, meaning that cafés and bars may have to stop providing wifi.

Regardless of what you do or don’t do, you could be punished for the actions of others because of laws put in place by the Digital Economy Bill: if you have unsecured wifi in your home, you could be punished; if you use the Internet at your local coffee shop or library, you could lose access to that connection.

Justice would not be completely out of reach: you could appeal, but you would have to pay for the privilege, and you wouldn’t be eligible for any legal aid.  Reasons for appeal are limited, and unlike in a trial, the onus would not be on rights holders to prove your guilt: you would be responsible for proving your innocence.

This will be voted upon in the very near future by your MP, and we need to ensure that the Bill is properly debated, and that all MPs know how dangerous it is to individuals and small businesses.  If we don’t ensure that it is properly scrutinised, the Bill could pass and have severe effects on the freedom and rights of innocent people, educational establishments and small businesses alike.

Don’t let this Bill get rushed through without a proper debate: write to your MP now!

What Else Can I Do?

Write to your local paper
Attend our demonstration outside Parliament on Wednesday 24th March 2010.

I’m writing to you as I would like you know your opinion of the Digital Economy Bill, which I have several concerns about, especially given the recent amendments put in by Peers in the House of Lords. I realise that it is unlikely you will have a chance to vote on this Bill, as it is being rushed through before the General Election; I’d like to hear your opinion regardless.

The Digital Economy Bill outlines that an Internet connection could be disconnected by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) if a copyright holder suspects that it is being used for copyright infringement. The theory behind this is that people download music and films from the Internet, and the best way to stop them from doing that is to remove their Internet access.

The problems with this are as follows:
* no proof against the suspect is required before punishment, which goes against human rights laws and our “innocent until proven guilty” justice system
* disconnection is a disproportionate punishment
* defences and the appeals process are unclear
* availability of public Internet access will be threatened

As such, I am shocked that the Government is still pushing this through after complaints from both consumers and companies – Internet users, Google, Facebook, eBay and numerous Internet providers have spoken out against the Bill. I recognise that copyright infringement is an issue, but these proposals are madness: a different solution involving fair trial and sensible punishment is needed.

I can go into further details about these points if you wish, but felt it better to highlight my issues first, and arrange to speak to you further afterwards if necessary. I look forward to your response.

In the interests of full disclosure, I am a supporter and employee of the Open Rights Group, a digital rights advocacy organisation; however, I am writing to you in a personal capacity as a Greenwich and Woolwich resident. I will be writing to all PPCs about this issue.

This is a modified version of the letter which I sent to my MP, Nick Raynsford, on 27th January 2010; to date, I have not received a response from him. I’ve also written to my local paper, Greenwich Time suggesting that other constituents do the same as me. The Open Rights Group has notes to guide you on writing to your local paper on its website, if you need it.

As it stands now, the Bill, if passed into law, will allow disconnection, web blocking and could see the death of open wifi.

Come along to the ORG demo on Wednesday 24th March at 17:30 and protest against disconnection without trial and censorship on the Internet.

We’ll have placards; just bring some black tape to gag or blindfold yourself, and invite your friends!

Disconnection is a collective punishment.  It is unacceptable, unfair and disproportionate.

The demo will be at Old Palace Yard (opposite Parliament, next to Westminster Abbey).
Tell us you are coming by requesting a “ticket” on Eventbrite so that we can contact you if necessary – you don’t need to bring your ticket with you.

If you can’t make it to London, why not set up your own demo?  Choose a prominent place in your home town; if possible, a local party HQ or MP constituency office, and let us know and we’ll advertise it on our website.

http://bit.ly/disconnection
Facebook Event: Stop Disconnection Demo

This means that as well as the everyday consumer, businesses and educational institutions will be responsible for activities of subscribers. Several official bodies, including the FSB and JANET (the network to which all educational and research institutions are connected), have asked the Government what they’re going to do about this but the response so far seems to be that as you can block copyright infringing activities, any subscriber neglecting to do so will be responsible for the actions of their users: in other words, “use a firewall”.

We still believe that this Bill fails to address the actual problem, and public confidence in the justice system will continue to fail. Please: write to your MP, and as ever, if you need any help with doing so, contact me.

These events came about after we realised that some people talking to their MPs weren’t getting anywhere because they were pushing against the copyright infringement side of the Bill, and we wanted to explain that they’d be better off fighting the due process side of the argument: that is, that disconnecting people without fair trial and allowing the secretary of business to amend copyright law as he saw fit was disproportionate and unfair.

Would you like to gain the confidence to talk and write to your MP, or rehearse talking to your MP one on one? We can help with this, and more: find out what MPs will ask you, learn how to write to your MP and get a response and meet other people campaigning against disconnection without trial in the Digital Economy Bill.

We believe that a lot of people don’t realise how easy it is to book an appointment to speak to their MP in person, or that doing this is the most effective way of ensuring Parliament knows and understands how unpopular the Digital Economy Bill really is.

We are running several short sessions in which you can try out talking to someone roleplaying the position of an MP and learn how to get your points across in a way that an MP will understand.

We have four events confirmed:
January 23rd in Manchester
January 24th in Edinburgh
January 30th in London

The fourth event will take place in Sheffield on January 27th as part of the Sheffield GeekUp unconference and there will be a choice of two sessions available: to register, see http://undeb-org.eventbrite.com.

All events are free, but booking is *essential* due to limited places. We hope to see you there.