Further scrutiny for Digital Economy Bill

According to a recent report the controversial Digital Economy Bill is set to face further scrutiny even if it has already been passed, and this is due to some highly controversial elements of the Bill.

Following the announcement by the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, that the general election is to be held on May 6th a mad rush know as the wash up period is underway to try and get the more controversial bills pushed through as quickly as possible before parliament is dissolved. This includes the highly controversial Digital Economy Bill, which is said to be getting rushed through its final stages.

However, according to recent reports the Digital Economy Bill still faces further scrutiny even if it is passed, and this is mainly because of a clause in the Bill that has been causing a huge amount of controversy since it was launched last year by the Business Secretary Lord Mandelson. Clause 18, which is the one that is under scrutiny, is set to be debated, which is what many groups have been calling for. Commons Leader, Harriet Harman, has reportedly confirmed that this clause of the Bill is set to be debated further.

The Liberal Democrats have stated that more of the Digital Economy Bill needs to come under scrutiny but the Digital Britain Minister Stephen Timms said: “The choice we have is to act on unlawful downloading or not to act. That is the choice the House needs to make.”

One of the major opposers to the Bill has been the Internet service provider Talk Talk, which said: “The majority of music fans will switch to alternative ways of accessing copyright-protected content for free if using peer-to-peer services leaves them vulnerable to disconnection, rendering futile the Government’s attempts to stop copyright infringement.”