On Tuesday, Gordon Brown went to the Queen and requested that Parliament be dissolved in order that a general election may take place on 6 May. Not only did this signal the beginning of the campaign for your vote, but also that there was only a further week to rush through any key outstanding legislation. Ten bills are being considered during this “wash-up” period, one of which was the Digital Economy Bill which was passed late Wednesday evening.
Ratings
The bill stems from the Digital Britain report, which outlined various recommendations aimed at moving Britain to the forefront of digital telecommunications, and the biggest positive to emerge from it was the acceptance into law of the European-wide PEGI system of game ratings over the UK-only BBFC method, which used the same guidelines as films. The independent Video Standards Council will now handle ratings, with the promise of Government working closely with them and PEGI to develop a clear set of symbols to give parents the necessary information at a glance.
Previously the BBFC system ran alongside PEGI and at times they offered conflicting messages; a single box could easily display symbols depicting two separate age ratings. With a single model the system will have the unity required to show coherency and strength in a society that is easy to try and lambast games for being too violent, rather than question the parent who let their offspring play unsuitable material. The system will also be legally enforceable meaning that retailers could be liable if games are sold to those underage.
Some have said that the BBFC ratings were a more instantly recognisable symbol thanks to their use in cinema, but their use was inconsistent at times with not all games displaying their iconic circles and triangles. Bar the imagery, the fundamentals are unlikely to change at all.
Tara Byron, psychologist and heavily involved with the Digital Britain report, told MCV that “the PEGI system has been strengthened since my review and the Government has consulted widely on each of my suggested criteria. I support the Government’s decision to combine the PEGI system with UK statutory oversight.”
Piracy
The other clauses of note can be found between numbers 4 and 18, and are possibly the most controversial. They relate to illegal downloads and the methods of tackling such activity, with possible recourse including cutting off users’ internet access and shutting down websites that are considered guilty of pirating copyrighted material.
Speaking to the BBC last week, a spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said that the bill would “allow copyright holders to apply for court injunctions requiring service providers to block access to specified Internet locations providing access to copyright infringing material.” Although they did point out that the Secretary of State would have to consult with the industry at large before carrying out such an injunction.
Depending on your line of thinking, this could be considered a good or a bad thing. For one it is the first signal that the authorities are looking at cracking down on piracy, but others could view it as the first step on a slippery slope as there are currently no plans for an appeals process. Indeed, many MPs were perturbed by the way the bill was rushed through the Commons with such haste believing that it required more scrutiny. Labour’s Tom Watson Twittered that it left him “physically sick”, whilst fellow MP Kate Hoey labelled it a “stitch-up”.
The main bone of contention is the way users may be identified through IP addresses with the worry being that innocent people may be prosecuted, brought about by the use of unguarded wi-fi, netjacking or even a communal IP address that serves an entire building. With The Telegraph reporting that less than 5% of the House were present during the final debate on the bill, it’s hard to argue that it was given the necessary consideration by all those involved. Already over 20,000 voters write to their MPs opposing such legislation with groups such as the Open Rights Group having carried out and planning more protests against it outside Parliament itself.
I make my living as a programmer at a British games developer. In my spare time I try and spread myself between writing, gaming, drumming, goalkeeping, rolling dice and keeping my hair blue. Somewhere around that my wife fits in.
Disclaimer: the views expressed are my own and do not neccessarily reflect those of my employer. "
