This document discusses the proposed Digital Economy Act (DEA) in the UK, which aims to address online copyright infringement. It notes concerns that the bill favors content industry interests over citizens' rights. Key issues include lack of due process, proportionality of criminal penalties for civil infringement, and potential punishment of innocent IP address holders. It also raises worries about the effect on public Wi-Fi access and the digital divide. The document analyzes lawmaking around new technologies and next steps like developing codes of practice to implement the bill.

1. DEA:
the dangerous
downloaders act
Ray Corrigan
Open University

2. Making UK copyright law
Bismark: sausages and laws
Mandelson meets Geffen
DEB November 2009
The Mandelson clause
The Lib Dem Lord (and the BPI web blocking clause)
The Labour Lord “I regret to say that during the course of our
consideration of the Bill, we have seen one of the worst examples in
my memory of the political parties being captured by a producer
interest.”
The Lib Dem revolt (emergency motion at conference)
DEA wash up April 2010

3. 3strikes
 Creators (compensate)
 Economic agents (business models)
 Content industry
 Intermediaries (ISPs)
 Others
 Consumers/citizens (Rights)

4. Not about
 Abolishing copyright
 Impoverishing creators

5. Is 3 strikes in DEB?
 Probably but not as we know it Jim
 Details tba
 Vague language
Any “online location” “likely” to host or be “location via” which
infringement takes place (search engines, libraries, universities?)

6. What is in it?
 Technical measures
Details tba in codes e.g. suspension of accounts, blocking user
access to sites, throttling
 Website blocking
By court order

7. Problems
 Suspicion
 Due process
no prior access to court, appeal after, guilt assumed, details tba
 Proportionality
Civil infringement, criminal penalty. ECJ Promusicae
 Punish the innocent
 IP address not infringer

8. IP address minister?
 Timms IP (intellectual property) address

9. Emergence
Intermediary liability
Public wi fi dead?
Pubs, airports, hotels, libraries, universities
Digital divide
Gordon Brown, March 2010: "21% of UK adults have never accessed the
internet. That‟s over a fifth trapped in a second tier of citizenship,
denied what I increasingly think of as a fundamental freedom in the
modern world: to be part of the internet and technology revolution".

10. Lawmaking in technicolour
 The worldwide view from Twitter #debll #deact
 28,000 wrote to MPs
 The empty chamber and the whip seen live iPlayer
 The wash up – not for controversial laws
 Lib Dem conference reversed front bench
 MPs when confused turned to music cos for advice (Eg.
My own MP was for and against it)

11. Watching them regulating us

12. What next?
 Most front bench MPs don‟t get the Net
 What it is used for
 How it works
 How it should be regulated
 Watching them regulating us
 Ofcom duty to work on the „codes‟
 Great case study for my book chapter

13. Gene: I want him in custody by teatime.
Alex: Why?
Gene: Cos he‟s guilty as sin and a dangerous downloading commie…