Tech policy & human rights
Big tech accountability? Read how we got here in The Closing of the Net
EU Slams Copyright Law as UK Admits No Evidence for the Digital Economy Act
By Mark Jackson
ISP Review, 21 November, 2011
A key civil servant whom helped author the UK governments 2010 Digital Economy Act (DEA / DEAct), which seeks to tackle "illegal" internet copyright infringement (piracy) by forcing controversial new measures upon broadband ISPs and their customers (e.g. account "suspension"), has admitted that the acts "impact assessment was not based on new research or evidence".
The comments, which also assert that the only real "evidence" to be associated with the acts construction came from the Rights Holders themselves, is technically nothing new. However both the past (Labour) and present coalition (Conservative / Liberal Democrat) government have preferred not to talk about it.
"It is reasonable to acknowledge that the Open Rights Group have something of a point about the evidence used for the Digital Economy Act. It was somewhat opaque. The impact assessment was not based on new research or evidence.
We had no independent source of information. It is probably fair to say that the evidence we had, had been offered by the rights-holders, they were unwilling to lift the bonnet and let us see the engines, if you like the workings and methodology.
We were trying to make the best brick we could with what straw we could find. In those circumstances, I would say however, that we were always clear as to the provenance of the sources we were quoting. We never claimed they were government figures. We were clear that these were figures that were provided by the rights-holders."
See the full cited article We had no evidence for DEAct, UK gov’t confesses
IPtegrity commentary
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- Digital rights - why they matter in a time of coronavirus
- EU upload filter - Germany’s crucial deciding vote
- Copyright Directive upload filter - why EU Council should block it
- Data and Brexit – a mis-calculation?
- EU lawmakers seek to protect free speech in online content rules
- How Brexit rips up business models Part 2: visas for money and music
Published work
- Algorithms Patrolling Content: Where’s the Harm?
- Content responsibility: The looming cloud of uncertainty for Internet intermediaries
- Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Standards and Private Online Censorship
- The Policy Challenge Of Content Restrictions: How Private Actors Engage The Duties Of States
- Internet Policy Review - The Aereo dilemma and copyright in the cloud
My Linked In profileIptegrity in brief
Iptegrity.com is the website of Dr Monica Horten. I’ve been analysing analysing digital policy since 2008. Way back then, I identified how issues around rights can influence Internet policy, and that has been a thread throughout all of my research. I hold a PhD in EU Communications Policy from the University of Westminster (2010), and a Post-graduate diploma in marketing. I’ve served as an independent expert on the Council of Europe Committee on Internet Freedoms, and was involved in a capacity building project in Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine. I am currently (from June 2022) Policy Manager - Freedom of Expression, with the Open Rights Group. For more, see About Iptegrity
Speaking engagements
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States v the 'Net?
Read The Closing of the Net, by me, Monica Horten.
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" essential read for anyone interested in understanding the forces at play behind the web." ITSecurity.co.uk
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In 2012, I presented my PhD research in the European Parliament.
