I just sent this through to my MP using 38degrees: DON’T RUSH THROUGH EXTREME WEB LAWS. More at BoingBoing, and ORG.

Dear Mr Raynsford

I’m writing to you today because I’m very worried that the Government is planning to rush the Digital Economy Bill into law without a full Parliamentary debate.

The law is controversial and contains many measures that concern me. The controversial Bill deserves proper scrutiny so please don’t let the government rush it through.

Many people think it will damage schools and businesses as well as innocent people who rely on the internet because it will allow the Government to disconnect people it suspects of copyright infringement.

For instance, I’m a partner in a small technology design business, and our type of business is often cited by the government as the type of company and the type of industry that the UK needs to succeed. We’ve been cited by the UKTI for instance for innovation being promoted abroad. Currently we compete with the best firms in Silicon Valley for business. We invent and create intellectual property – we are far from against fair copyright laws and being rewarded for our efforts and research, but our copyright debate has been dominated by incumbent industry that haven’t responded to technology or their customers for too long.

It galls me that lobbyists for incumbent behemoths like the BPI will screw up the nascent technology industry in the UK, without my representative in the House debating it. It galls me that this Bill has been rushed through, and seems ill-considered. It galls me that the Labour party, which historically I have supported, and I have seen as a champion of progressive forces in both society and technology in-particular seems to be siding with vested interests representing the least-progressive side of the music industry instead of championing the infrastructure we need to invent our way out of our economic, environmental and societal difficulties across the spectrum.

Industry experts, internet service providers (like Talk Talk and BT) and huge internet companies like Google and Yahoo are all opposing the bill – yet the Government seems intent on forcing it through without a real debate.

As a constituent I am writing to you today to ask you to do all you can to ensure the Government doesn’t just rush the bill through and deny us our democratic right to scrutiny and debate.

Best regards,

Matt Jones
Greenwich