You’ll remember that I wrote to my MP, Ben Wallace, a couple of days ago about the Digital Economy Bill. He responded by email today. I’ve not really analysed the message yet; I’ll do that tomorrow. For now, here’s the full text of the response:
Dear Mr Binns,
Thank you for contacting me about the Government’s plans to crackdown on illegal filesharing as set out in the November 2009 Queen Speech.
This is an extremely serious issue that costs the creative industries hundreds of millions of pounds each year. It also puts consumers at risk, as those who download illegal material increase the likelihood of their machines being attacked by computer viruses, and are exposed to unverified advertising and inappropriate material. Regrettably, the Government has neglected this crucial area until now and legislation is urgently needed.
As part of the Digital Economy Bill, the Government has finally set out measures to tackle digital piracy. Under the proposed legislation, in the first year of operation persistent illegal filesharers could be issued two warning letters in an attempt to reform their behaviour. If illegal filesharing has not dropped by 70 per cent within this period, then further measures to cut off the most serious offenders’ internet connections could also be introduced.
I support measures to tackle internet piracy. However, I share your concerns about the practical implications of the Government’s announcements. These proposals fail to answer some critical questions; for example, what criteria will the Secretary of State use before deciding to cut someone off? They also fail to suggest incentives for technical solutions that prevent or deter people from illegal file-sharing in the first place.
Whilst my party are happy to consider the use of technical measures against the most extreme offenders, we believe this should be a last resort. Conservatives advocate the use of more educational programmes in schools and amongst the general public to educate people on the wrongs of illegal downloading.
Please be assured that my colleague Jeremy Hunt MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, will be following the progress of the Bill closely and Conservatives will continue to press the Government for more details of their plans, and to promote a more educational based solution.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to contact me.
Kind regards,
BEN WALLACE
Hi – Just to let you know that the ‘response’ you received from Mr. Wallace is identical to the one I received a little while ago from my MP, Gerald Howarth (the Conservative Shadow Defence Minister). I thought it strange that none of my points were directly addressed and on a whim Googled the first line of the email. It would appear that Conservative MPs are being given stock replies regarding the issue, which begs the question whether Mr. Howarth (or indeed, Mr. Wallace) got further than the words ‘Digital Economy’ before slapping off their stock reply. It’s especially insulting the case of Mr. Howarth as he claimed that he couldn’t get back to me immediately due to his responsibilities as President of the Air Display Association and that he would send a full answer in a few days after reading my letter in full.
Why doesn’t that surprise me much?
In my case I initially spoke to a member of Mr Wallace’s staff on the phone. I wonder if I’d have got further if I’d maybe pushed harder to talk to him personally or gone to see him at a surgery.
The response I got from Ben Wallace re The Digital Economy Bill was also exactly the same. Fat lot of good that did!
The sign at Caton Green has always only had one post so that it can overlap the wall. If the one post was central, the sign would stick into the road. I live there and watched them being erected.