William Heath’s blog

Posted on Nov 21st by William in Creative outlets, IdealGov stuff

From my perspective in Sweden (where I just spent last week) the proposed new UK Digital Economy bill looks decidedly ill-advised.

Our concern should be for the issues, of course, not based on personal reservations about the people involved. It’s tempting to dismiss Lord Mandelson as a twice-disgraced now unelected somewhat sinister political schemer eternally open to seduction from wealthy businessmen and seduced in this specific case over lunch with David Geffen in Corfu.

We may never know. And if they’re voted out next election we might not care.

Except that my own MP Jeremy Hunt, shadow lead on the same issues, takes the same line and supports making ISPs responsible for carrying out warnings, restriction and evential disconnection for suspected filesharers. He’d like to see it happen faster.

Here’s the nub of a letter I just wrote to Jeremy, attaching the Open Rights Group’s briefing on illegal filesharing (pdf):

I spent last week in Sweden where I met finance minister Mats Odell and also young activists from the Pirate Party, which now has over 50,000 members.

Of course illegal sharing of copyright content is wrong. But there are market solutions to bring rightsholders new revenues in an Internet age. And an open and neutral Internet is essential for all, for social life, education, work, culture and participation in public life.

Supporting measures to snoop on it, restrict it and eventually cut people off is a proven way to alienate young voters on a massive scale. The pivotal moment for the Pirate Party was evidence of Swedish government collaboration with the RIAA/MPAA prior to the guilty verdict in the Pirate Bay trial.

The established parties in Sweden did not know what had hit them, and are now recalibrating their world view urgently.

I wonder what it’s like being on the receiving end of sickly-sweet overtures from corporate lobbyists defending an outmoded view of the world? Maybe he’ll tell me; I’m seeing him 4 Dec (about the Quaker Waitrose concern).

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