#DEAct #yourfreedomPosted by louisesdad July 03, 2010 at 10:51AM
I have been (after a few goes) in the government’s new Your Freedom website, you can seem my comment about the DEbill/DEact below.
Posted by louisesdad July 03, 2010 at 10:51AM
“This is an extremely important Act for many reasons, firstly the digital economy is something that overlaps into all areas of our lives now. It is not just about ‘justice and freedom’ but as we see in the government’s priorities digital things must be included under the heading ‘society’ (broadband/ net neutrality issues) too. It is in fact, a new form of an old problem, that of fairness: better access to services across geographical and social divides.
Just as roads, telephone lines, buses, trains, shops, schools and hospitals have all improved our quality of life across the UK, so too is emerging technology and improved communications through better and more open connectivity. This is a social process: better creativity, collaboration and cooperation follows on from improvements in connectivity. It is important that the conversation is about ‘what we can do’ (see Finland), unfortunately the DEAct is mainly about benefits for big business, not consumers and the conversation, in the UK, Canada and Australia is unfortunately stuck on what we ‘can not do’.”
If you are not up on the passage of the DE Bill or the ongoing discussions about the need to revisit the DE Act and amend bits of it, start withMark Thomas’s excellent Youtube video. You might also want to have a look at what was said in the House of Lords about the bill. I liked what Lord Clement-Jones (Lib Dem) said about lobbyists, subscribers and consumers, also see the Earl of Errol talking about the problems universities will have in future with this act.
It is likely that there will be much more action around the DEAct as the government, and the Lib Dems in particular, revisit this act. It will also be interesting to see contributions from Labour MPs on the opposition benches, now they are less constrained by government demands. Needless to say, there is digital expertise in the HoC, with MPs like Tom Watson formerly Digital Inclusion minister with interests in gaming and copyright. There are others aswell, such as members of the 25-year-old PITCOM APPG, who have made a valuable contribution to digital discussions based on there strong interest in business, science and technology.
It is the Digital Economy All Party Parliamentary Group which is most likely to bring together MPs and Lords with an interest in the digital economy (and/or social media) in a new way. The DEAPPG, the idea of Eric Joyce MP, came about during the passage of the bill in March and April but has only recently been officially registered in Portcullis House. Eric has been blogging and integrating Social Media into his office communications for a while now, in an effort to improve communications with the public and journalists. The DEAPPG is in the process of developing its own communications (website coming soon) and has had support from the public MPs, Peers and the Open Rights Group . The first meeting was held straight after the General Election and two more meetings will go ahead in July. On the 26th of July there is a DEAPPG meeting which is open to the public who can ask questions of MPs, Lords, and a range of experts: musicians, ISPs, artists, government employees, educationalists, bankers, lawyers, trade unions, and journalists.
You can keep up with what is happening with the DEAPPG in Westminster by following me @louisesdad or @digecon in twitter.. until the Digecon blog is operational, soon 
