03/22/10
UK voters launch 38 degrees website to provide for input on Digital Economy Bill
A controversial proposed law in Great Britain will now be subject to comment and debate online as the opponents launch a website to gather voter opinion about the Digital Economy Bill.
The most debated portion of the bill deals with proposed legal penalties that could be handed down to ISPs that fail to stop illegal file sharing. The bill would give the country's high court the power to preemptively shut down ISPs so accused, and to enforce bans on users that the record companies allege to have downloaded illegal content.
Critics, including those who set up the 38 degrees website, say that the Digital Economy Bill would effectively allow movie studios and record companies to control internet access in the country, and that the provisions for due process of law were woefully inadequate safeguards against abuse by content owners.
Many fear that the bill will be pushed through the House of Commons before the pending elections, despite the widespread public opposition and general unpopularity of the new measure. The Digital Economy Bill has already passed the House of Lords.
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