I thought it would be interesting to compare the contents of the Liberal Democrat Freedom Bill with the new Government’s version:

What do I conclude from this comparison? That the Government’s outline proposals are a massive step in the right direction however there is still more work to do.

1. Scrap the ID card scheme, the National Identity register, the next generation of biometric passports and the ContactPoint Database.
2. Outlaw the finger-printing of children at school without parental permission.
3. Extend the scope of the Freedom of Information Act to provide greater transparency.
4. Adopt the Scottish approach to stopping retention of innocent people’s DNA on the DNA database.
5. Defend trial by jury.
6. Restore rights to non-violent protest.
7. A review of libel laws to protect freedom of speech.
8. Safeguards against the misuse of anti-terrorism legislation.
9. Further regulation of CCTV.
10. Ending of storage of internet and email records without good reason.
11. A new mechanism to prevent the proliferation of unnecessary new criminal offences.
12. End the detention of children for immigration purposes.

Oh my!

As a digital- and civil-rights campaigner this list fills my heart with joy. The successful passage of this Bill through Parliament would not end the need to champion human rights in the digital era* however it would be a famous victory for that cause: we could say with certainty that this election, that the ousting of Labour from Government, was the point at which the high-water mark of authoritarian social policy in Britain was reached.

Some fellow campaigners have today urged caution and are reserving judgement until the details of the Bill are published. I cannot fault them for their cynicism however I am filled with hope that today we have seen not only the dawn of a new politics in Britain, but a new era of liberty, freedom, privacy and respect for human rights in the UK.

I shall be raising my glass to the death of ID cards and the Database State tonight!

* Three omissions stand out: repeal clauses 11-18 of the Digital Economy Act; make the NHS Summary Care Record opt-in rather than opt-out; end the Vetting and Barring scheme, abolish the Independent Safeguarding Authority and reform CRB checks to make them fair. It’s possible that these will be included in the detail of the Bill.

Some video and photos of the event are online here: http://bit.ly/shefdebprotest Yes, that is me mumbling incoherently into Mikey’s video camera!

Paul Scriven at the Gagged Geeks protest

There was disappointing news from Parliament today. Despite a massive letter-writing and direct action campaign by geeks across the UK, Leader of the House Harriet Harman has scheduled a second reading of the Bill for 6 April. This is widely expected to be the day Gordon Brown goes to the Queen to ask permission to disolve parliament. If a second reading takes place before Parliament rises for the election, the Bill will be eligible for the so-called “wash-up” process, in which the Government and Opposition front-bench teams will sit behind closed doors to horse-trade our rights away. No transparency. No scrutiny. No debate. No democracy.

If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to write to your MP and protest, which you can do in two minutes at http://www.writetothem.com/. There’s a guide to writing a good letter here

If you have already written, and you haven’t received a reply, then you could write to the local paper and call them out publicly. Here’s my letter in the Sheffield Star.

You could also turn up to one of the many election hustings being held across the country and ask your local Parliamentary candidates for their opinion – both on the Bill and the underhand way it’s being pushed through Parliament.

If you’ve had a reply from your MP, and it’s a form letter or you’re not satisfied with their answers, please write back and tell them. Point out which parts of their response you disagree with or ask them to address any specific points from your first letter that they’ve ignored. You’ll often get back a much more personal and considered response to a second letter.
Please also consider contributing the correspondance to the Open Rights Group wiki

Lastly, you could join the Open Rights Group, who campaign to protect and extend digital rights in the UK.

Disclosure: I am an Open Rights Group paying supporter and volunteer.

I am writing to you in your capacity as Leader of the House of Commons. My MP Richard Caborn may have made representations to you already on my behalf however I wanted to emphasise how important this matter is to me.

Please ensure the Digital Economy Bill benefits from the full scrutiny of all our elected representatives in the House of Commons. It should receive a second reading, a committee stage, a third reading and a report stage. If necessary, the passage of clauses 11-18 in particular should be delayed until after the general election, when there will be sufficient time to address line-by-line their many shortcomings.

You will be tempted to ignore this letter because you suspect it’s part of a throw-away campaign orchestrated by partial interests. Not only would such suspicion be unfounded, to succumb to it would be to ignore real anger and frustration at the way this issue is being handled, felt by the very people charged with building the UK Digital Economy: our technical experts. A search on Twitter for the hashtag #debill will confirm the outrage being expressed by net-savvy people all over the UK.

You will be told the measures in the Bill are uncontroversial and have cross-party support however more than 12,000 people have written to their MPs to protest them in the last week alone. I’m sure you will have received some of these letters personally.

You will be told the Bill is essential to protect our creative industries – by deep-pocketed lobbyists working for those industries, who have themselves drafted some of the most contentious clauses of this Bill. Lord Whitty said during the Third Reading debate in the house of Lords, “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. That applies not only to the Government and the bringing forward of the Bill, but to the opposition Front Benches as well.”

Given the current furore over lobbyist influence this Bill could prove to be political dynamite!

Lastly, and most frustratingly of all, you will be told this Bill will reduce copyright infringement on the Internet. Nothing could be further from the truth. Encryption services such as IPredator and HideMyAss, and products like the Pogoplug, rendered this legislation ineffective before it was even drafted. If you don’t believe me, consult an independent technical expert, or ask for the advice of the security services.

I support the right of creative people to make a living from their art. I do not condone copyright infringement. This is not about getting something for nothing – it’s about defending democracy, justice and human rights.

If you feel for political reasons that a Digital Economy Bill *must* pass into law during this Parliament, please remove clauses 11-18 of the present draft, and offer to bring them back for proper scrutiny in a new Bill after the election.

Thank you

Write your own letter to Harriet here: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/speakout/HarrietHarman
Come to a protest against the Bill in London or Sheffield on the evening of 24 March.

There will be a flash mob protest outside Sheffield Train Station at 5:55pm on Wednesday 24 March. It’ll only take 20 minutes of your time, it’ll be good fun, and it could help to save the Internet.

If passed into law as it currently stands, the Digital Economy Bill could allow the Government to disconnect you from the Internet (without trial), facilitate censorship of the Internet, and could precipitate the death of open Wi-Fi and public Internet access provision.

If you register for a free ticket or RSVP to the Facebook event it’ll help us gauge numbers. Otherwise, just turn up, and bring your friends and colleagues.

Hope to see you there!

What you can do now:

• Write to your MP (takes two minutes, however please use your own words.)
• Write to your local paper.