*The Digital Economy Act limps on – Government demands
£20 to prove your innocence. *
Two important bits of the Digital Economy Act were republished by Ofcom in
the summer - and despite Ofcom having had two years to work on them,
fundamental problems remain. Crucially people accused of infringement will
have to pay £20 to appeal the accusation. The fee is refunded if your
appeal is upheld, but the aim is to deliberately prevent innocent people
from appealing.
The Act still puts public Wi-Fi provision at risk because Wi-Fi providers
may be liable for their customers' alleged infringement.
The Lords will shortly be debating whether to approve the charges. The
Digital Economy Act is a mess of a law: expensive, error-ridden and
unlikely to work. It needs repealing.
Read
more<http://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/2012/digital-economy-act-costs-…
*ORG fights Snoopers’ Charter *
ORG ran two sessions this year on the Communications Data Bill at the Lib
Dem and Labour conferences, working with Big Brother Watch and Index on
Censorship. ORG supporters leafleted all three Conferences - a big thank
you to everyone who helped!
It was a great opportunity to talk to MPs about the Comms Data Bill. We
found the Labour MPs bogged down in details about costs, but unconcerned
about the essential right to privacy. The Conservative and Lib Dem
conference sessions recognised the fundamental issues; all speakers
acknowledged the need for lawful access, and were concerned with how gaps
in data might be reasonably dealt with. However this is not enough.
Please challenge your MP <http://www.openrightsgroup.org/campaigns/cdb> by
telling them that the CDB is not a “technical issue” or one with only
practical concerns: it is a civil liberties battle.
*More social media arrests*
In the last few weeks Matthew Woods was given 12 weeks for posting jokes
about April Jones. Azhar Ahmed was given a community order for posting very
stupid comments about soldiers. Offensive as they were, these words should
not be landing people in jail.
Section 127 (1) of the Communications Act 2003 is aimed at 'public
communications networks’, a broadly drawn target. These cases are just more
examples in a string of social media prosecutions. Read our further
analysis<http://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/2012/dont-make-me-laugh>
.
*ORGZine celebrates
*
Alongside our main website ORG run a magazine for discussion and debate on
digital rights issues.
In the last month there were some big celebrations related to the digital
world. Last week on ORGZine we celebrated Ada Lovelace Day, where Milena
Popova wrote about some of the great women in digital
rights<http://zine.openrightsgroup.org/features/2012/ada-lovelace-day-a-…on>.
During Banned Books Week, we ran a piece about how the reasons we protest
library book bans are the same reasons we should be protesting about online
censorship <http://zine.openrightsgroup.org/features/2012/banned-book-week>and
discussing why they are seen as different issues.
New writers and discussion are always welcome! If you have an idea for a
topic or want to write, get in touch with our editor, on
orgzine.editor(a)openrightsgroup.org
You're not alone.
Without your donations, we would not be able to continue our campaigns.
That's why we would like to *ask you* to support us against government and
corporate actions limiting your digital rights. Please join
today!<http://www.openrightsgroup.org/join>
Find us on Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/openrightsgroup>
Follow us on Twitter <http://twitter.com/openrightsgroup>
*News in Brief*
ORG's consultation responses are now available:
The Draft Anonymisation Code of
Practice<http://www.openrightsgroup.org/ourwork/reports/response-to-the-…
Midata<http://www.openrightsgroup.org/ourwork/reports/response-to-the-mi…
Digital Economy Act Sharing of Costs
Order<http://www.openrightsgroup.org/ourwork/reports/response-to-ofcoms-…
*ORG Out and About *
*Festival of Social Sciences* 8 November
Peter Bradwell speaking on what is useful evidence for IP policy.
Executive Business Centre, Bournemouth, BH8
8EB<http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/2012/09/27/esrc-festival-of-social-science-cippm-event-what-constitutes-evidence-for-copyright-policy-programme-confirmed/>
*Westminster Forum: Copyright regulation and combating piracy in the UK and
Europe *20th November 12.15
Peter Bradwell will be discussing increasing legal access to content and
copyright reform.
ICO Conference Centre, 22 Berners Street, London W1T
3DD<http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CCsQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.westminsterforumprojects.co.uk%2Fforums%2Fagenda%2Fcopyright-agenda.pdf&ei=qWKFUO-MF4jL0QWrzID4Aw&usg=AFQjCNE9ZW2-DqI2gB7caV0WnAHHiAzCOA&sig2=Ia2B4XYy8k1-iCpCFZDlgg>
*Copyright Wars: content, technology and the internet *22 November
A seminar looking at issues facing copyright. Peter Bradwell will be
speaking alongside representatives from Disney, Warner Bros and Everything
Everywhere.
The Lincoln Centre, 18 Lincoln's Inn Fields,
London<http://www.twobirds.com/English/Events/Pages/copyrightwars23nov.A…
*Internet Governance Forum* 6 - 9 November
Jim Killock speaking on Internet filtering and child protection and Javier
Ruiz will be speaking on Open Data and government accountability.
Baku,
Azerbaijan<http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/component/content/article/114-…
*Open Up!* 13 November
Javier Ruiz speaking on transparency and open government.
London Symphony Orchestra's Jerwood Hall, Old
Street<http://lso.co.uk/jerwood-hall>
*ORG Meetings*
*ORGManchester *7 November 19.00
ORG Manchester are hosting a public debate with by-election candidates and
some local figures in the digital community, offering an opportunity to
quiz them on their views of issues effecting one of Manchester's largest
industries.
The Dancehouse
Theatre<http://maps.google.com/maps?q=10+Oxford+Rd%2C+Manchester>er>,
10 Oxford Road, Manchester
*ORG Supporter London *19 November 18.45
Is it an offense to cause offense and are your bits offensive? A look at
section 127.
Venue TBC, details here <http://www.meetup.com/ORG-London/events/74016342/>
*ORGNorth-East *11 November 3.30
Introduction to ORG North-East and a talk on the economics of copyright.
Star & Shadow, Stepney Bank, NE1 2NP
* *
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*Contents CC-BY-SA <http://www.openrightsgroup.org/licence> Open Rights
Group 2011 *
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*Jon Davies - Chief Executive Wikimedia UK*. Mobile (0044) 7803 505 169
tweet @jonatreesdavies
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