Free-speech alert: Is this the start of the internet take-down?

Two stories in the newspapers that free speech defenders and civil liberties champions need to get onto and fast.

ZaNuLiebour plan to rush through the controversial Digital Economy Bill in the 'wash up' - the race to ram through legislation in the short window when a General Election is called.

This is the Bill that will force people guilty of 'copyright infringement' to be denied access to the internet.

Use some imagination there... come on, this Government has form. Join the dots...

You can read this awful Bill HERE.

In an open letter (published by The Guardian), opponents of the Bill - including Anthony Barnett of openDemocracy, Billy Bragg, Lord Errol, Jo Glanville of Index on Censorship, John Grogan MP, Andrew Heaney - the Director of Regulation at TalkTalk, Caroline Lucas (Green Party), Baroness Miller, Peter Tatchell, Tom Watson MP and Lord Whitty write:

The digital economy bill is a highly controversial bill. Many of us believe that it threatens to severely infringe fundamental human rights, by allowing the disconnection of internet accounts for alleged copyright infringement, and also by new 'website blocking' laws that could result in new ways to suppress free speech and legitimate activity. There are also dangers to business, through restrictions on provision on open wifi networks, that could damage our economy.

But our worry today is that none of this will be properly debated by parliament. Last week, Harriet Harman MP failed to give the commons any reassurances that this important, complex and controversial Bill will be properly scrutinised by our elected MPs.

Democracy and accountability will be sidestepped if this bill is rushed through and amended without debate during the so-called 'wash-up' process. The thousands of people we know to be contacting their MPs with concerns will find their faith in politicians even further undermined.

For these reasons we are writing to ask that those most controversial parts of the bill – clauses 11-18, covering 'technical measures' and court orders for website blocking – either be properly debated, or be taken out of the Bill and subjected to genuine democratic scrutiny in a new parliament.

More than 10,000 people in the space of just three days have written letters to MPs opposing the plans and a protest is due to take place outside Parliament on Wednesday next week.

Helpfully, the 38 Degrees website is making it easy for you to write to your MP about this matter - and you absolutely MUST.

Meanwhile, in other news, The Times has this:

The aim is that within a year, everybody in the country should have a personalised website through which they would be able to find out about local services and do business with the Government. A unique identifier will allow citizens to apply for a place for their child at school, book a doctor’s appointment, claim benefits, get a new passport, pay council tax or register a car from their computer at home.

We bolded those couple of lines for emphasis.

Now, if we throw biometric identity cards and the database state back into the equation, can you spot what they're doing yet?

Here's a scenario for you to consider:

The website YouTube is blocked after rows over supposed 'copyright infringements'. A couple of months later, there are violent attacks on peaceful political protesters. Some of this is caught on mobile phone camera, but no-one has any web video provider to upload it to. Meanwhile, the 'internet' comes under 'cyber attack' from the bogeyman. As a temporary measure, the internet is switched off in the name of 'security'. Luckily, this does not effect our ability to communicate with the State as our personal webpage - accessed via our unique identifier - has been hosted on a secretive alternative internet network, called 'Internet 2'.

Work the rest out yourself. All it takes is a little imagination and an awareness of the totalitarian nature of New Labour...

Be afraid, be very afraid...