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Hundreds expected outside parliament to protest at digital economy bill at 5:30pm


DJ Stashman

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Hundreds of people are expected to turn up outside the House of Commons at 5.30pm this afternoon to protest at proposals in the digital economy bill to disconnect people accused but not proven of illicit file sharing online, block websites and which could cause hotels and cafes to shut down Wi-Fi systems for customers.

People are also being urged to contact Harriet Harman, the leader of the house of commons, to demand a full debate on the issues.

The protesters will carry black placards and wear black tape on their eyes or ears, to indicate their feelings about the bill, which is being rushed through parliament and is expected to be pushed through in the "wash-up" process by which bills are nodded through on agreement of party whips after the election is called.

So far the bill has passed through the full process in the House of Lords. It has already had one reading in the Commons; procedure dictates that if a bill has a second reading by the time an election is called, it is eligible to be passed into the wash-up. Harman is expected to announce on Thursday that the government will give the bill its second reading on Tuesday 6 April – the same day that Gordon Brown is expected to go to the Queen to request the dissolution of parliament to trigger a general election.

The decision to protest today was partly driven by the alleged comments of one peer, who was claimed to have said during the debate that "it's only the internet - it's not as if people will turn up to protest outside parliament." (The precise quote cannot be found in Hansard.)

If MPs do push for a comprehensive debate on the bill, that could stall its progress and prevent it going into the wash-up.

"We want a debate," said Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group, which has campaigned against many of the strictures in the bill. "Without the appropriate legal scrutiny the government's plans will criminalise innocent people and prevent them from conducting their lives, work or education online.

The bill also appears to contradict Gordon Brown's vision for Digital Britain set out in a speech earlier this week in which the prime minister described the internet as a "fundamental freedom in the modern world".

More than 12,000 members of the public have sent emails to their MPs via 38degrees, a site which enables citizen advocacy, urging them to demand a debate over the controversial bill in the House of Commons. Almost every MP in the house has received a letter, says 38degrees.

• Digital economy bill: what you need to know

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/mar/24/digital-economy-bill-protests

how the hell can you pass a bill and not even have a decent debate about it

f*ck*ng government....

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Guest Tulse Hill

good.

no more cunts downloading my music without putting a penny in my pocket.

maybe now it'll become possible to eat off music again.

Who are u and where can ur music be found for purchase?

He's Skepta you fcking fool.

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lol @ these cunts thinking they can stop the downloading wave

but

dont want to see any of the e-army getting caught/prosecuted/disconnected

plus free wifi hotspots are the one

'east coast' (formerly national express east coast) trains with free wifi >>> ______________________

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good.

no more cunts downloading my music without putting a penny in my pocket.

maybe now it'll become possible to eat off music again.

You should be able to make more off doing shows anyways, unless you're on a big label and in the charts. Record companies are pushed to deal with the times; tons of money just wont be availabe anymore, because the music is not under their control as much. In many ways it's actually freeing sh*t up and getting people heard who wouldn't normally be heard unless some fat rich white dude allowed it.

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good.

no more cunts downloading my music without putting a penny in my pocket.

maybe now it'll become possible to eat off music again.

Who are u and where can ur music be found for purchase?

He's Skepta you fcking fool.

dont address me again horse f*cker

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good.

no more cunts downloading my music without putting a penny in my pocket.

maybe now it'll become possible to eat off music again.

You should be able to make more off doing shows anyways, unless you're on a big label and in the charts. Record companies are pushed to deal with the times; tons of money just wont be availabe anymore, because the music is not under their control as much. In many ways it's actually freeing sh*t up and getting people heard who wouldn't normally be heard unless some fat rich white dude allowed it.

Jews mate

f*ck*ng JEWS

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they would have to physically chuck me in jail to stop me downloading tbh.

if i got cut off from home id access internet elsewhere. failed policy

Excatly, if anything downloading music helps the new artists, exposure etc, can safely say because of downloading I found out about Giggs and now I do/will purchase his stuff legally.

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