Digital Economy Bill All Washed-up

As predicted yesterday the Government's Digital Economy Bill passed through the House of Commons late last night in the end-of-Parliament wash-up process.

The bill, which includes measures that could require internet service providers (ISPs) to send warning letters to or even disconnect those accused of repeatedly sharing copyrighted material, was passed by 197 votes to 40.

Although the controversial Clause 18 of the bill, related to the blocking of websites sharing copyrighted material, was dropped, it was effectively replaced by an amendment to Clause 8 of the bill.

This makes provision for an injunction to block any "location on the internet which the court is satisfied has been, is being or is likely to be used for or in connection with an activity that infringes copyright".

As in its second reading on Tuesday, the bill was attacked by several members of the house. John Hemming, Liberal Democrat MP for Birmingham Yardley started his speech by noting that he should declare some interests in the matter.

"I am a member of the BPI, the Performing Rights Society and the Musicians Union, and I have also run e-commerce companies for more than ten years", he stated, before noting that "The Bill is a complete mess".

He raised the possibility that the clause allowing injunctions to block websites that host copyrighted material could be used to restrict access to sites such as Wikileaks.

Financial Secretary to the Treasury Stephen Timms MP later noted that "we do not want the clause to be used to restrict freedom of speech".

The amendment to Clause 8, however, demands only that the courts should " have regard" to "the importance of preserving human rights, including freedom of expression" when considering such injunctions.

Andrew Heany of the ISP TalkTalk, which has campaigned against the bill, said that the Bill as passed was "in much better shape than when first tabled by the Government last year" but still contained "draconian proposals".

He said the company "would continue to battle against these oppressive proposals", many of which will require further legislation to implement.

The Conservatives have pledged to review the legislation in the next parliament should it turn out to be flawed and if they win the General Election.