The party has adopted a policy paper that calls for partial repeal of the Digital Economy Act, to get rid of powers to block websites and suspend people's accounts if suspected of copyright infringement
The Liberal Democrat party has pledged to repeal parts of the Digital Economy Act, after adopting a policy to strike out its copyright enforcement and website-blocking measures.
The Lib Dems' pledge to repeal parts of the Digital Economy Act has been welcomed by MP Julian Huppert (pictured), chair of the party's Information Technology Policy Working Group.Photo credit: Institute of Physics/Flickr
On Monday, delegates to the Lib Dems' autumn conference adopted the party's
wide-ranging Preparing
the Ground: Stimulating Growth in the Digital Economy (PDF) technology policy document. The paper proposed two options for pulling back on the copyright crackdown provisions in the Digital
Economy Act, and party members chose
the more far-reaching of the two.
"Tackling piracy is important, but it shouldn't be seen as an end
in itself," Julian Huppert, the MP who chairs the Lib Dems'
Information Technology Policy Working Group, said in a statement. "It's more important to create conditions that reward
innovation and talent, and ensure that creators get the benefits of
their work.
"The Digital Economy Act fails to do that," Huppert added. "Worse,
it sorely lacks a convincing evidence base and real democratic
legitimacy. I am delighted that conference has passed this motion
calling for the damaging parts of the act to be repealed, and
suggesting new ways for the digital economy to grow."
The delegates rejected the weaker option in the paper, Option B, which calls for repeal only of sections 17 and 18 of the act. These sections, which deal with blocking sites used for
copyright infringement, were introduced
by the Lib Dems themselves to the legislation. However, the governing coalition has already said
it will
not use the site-blocking powers the act gave it.
Option B also recommended that sections 9 to 16 "should not be commenced until the government can demonstrate
that the measures would be necessary and effective, and assent had
been given through a vote of both Houses". These provisions make it possible
to force
ISPs to suspend web access for infringers after repeated violations.
Option A
In the event, the Lib Dem rank and file went for Option A, which
calls for an outright repeal of sections 3 to 18. These sections
encompass not only site-blocking and account suspension, but also the
obligation on ISPs to police their networks for copyright infringement
and hand over user details to rights holders.
Option A referred to the existing legislation as "a deeply flawed and unworkable act
which stands only as the main emblem of a misguided, outdated and
negative approach".
The conference also backed the policy of setting up an independent
review of the "true impact" of file-sharing on the creative
industries.
"In the evidence we have heard from witnesses, it has been clear
throughout that arguments are being made, on all sides of the debate,
from an insufficient evidence base," the paper states, echoing the view
of copyright reform author Ian Hargreaves.
"What is needed is a
more detailed analysis of the relationship between piracy and the
creative industries; there have even been some studies which suggested
that file-sharing may result in increased sales in certain
circumstances," it said.
The newly-adopted Lib Dem policies do not automatically become
government policies despite the party's participation in the
coalition.
"It will now be taken back to Westminster where it will guide our
ministers and parliamentarians in their dealings with the
Conservatives when the opportunity arises," a spokesman from the Lib Dem office told ZDNet UK.
Net neutrality
The policy paper also touched on the issue of net neutrality, saying the
government has taken an "ambiguous line" on the topic. It pointed to Ed
Vaizey's speech in November, when the communications
minister said the government favoured a light touch on regulating net
neutrality.
The Digital Economy Act sorely lacks a convincing evidence base and real democratic legitimacy.
– Julian Huppert, MP
This speech "was interpreted by
one side as signalling open season on traffic management, and by the
other as a reiteration of the importance of neutrality", the paper said.
"We do not consider it liberal to allow competition on the basis of
existing service providers offering different packages based on
traffic management that favours one company over another. Instead, it
is better to provide a level playing field — where traffic flows
at the same speed, whatever the content and whoever owns and operates
the website," it added.
In an echo of Vaizey's speech, however, it went on to suggest there is no urgent need for net neutrality regulation yet. Instead, it argued
that regulation will be introduced once there is demonstrable "privileging" of
certain types of content or of "throttling download speeds on certain
websites".
The Lib Dem policy paper also called for the Communications Act
2003 to be amended, so that people cannot be prosecuted for making
jokes online that can be read as threats. This is what happened to
Paul Chambers, who is still appealing a court
decision that his facetious threat to blow up Robin Hood Airport
was a genuine statement of intent.
In addition, the policy pledges to reform of online libel laws so that content can
only be taken down when it is proven to be libellous, and not just
alleged to be defamatory.
It also urged caution about the
introduction of electronic voting and about the transition of
public-sector services to the cloud. Other sections reiterated existing
party policy about introducing universal broadband access,
supporting tech start-ups and backing open standards in public-sector
procurement. A new government department should be created to oversee
official IT procurement, the paper added.
Other measures it backed include free Wi-Fi in city
centres, raising the fines that can be applied for data-protection
violations, and educating young people about privacy rights.
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