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05 May 2010
The question of which political party will drive the best strategy for the technology industry is a difficult one, and has no certain answer.
With this in mind, V3.co.uk has spoken with the three main parties on the most important tech issues, and compared IT strategies head-to-head.
We interviewed Labour MP and minister for Digital Britain Stephen Timms, Conservative MP and shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt and Liberal Democrat MP and shadow business secretary John Thurso.
This section will look at how the parties compare when it comes to copyright legislation.
The government has recently passed the Digital Economy Act, which will see illegal downloaders punished for repeated attempts to access copyrighted content.
The copyright clauses are particularly controversial. If warning letters sent to illegal downloaders do not prove a sufficient deterrent, their internet access will be restricted. Digital rights groups have argued that the punishment is not proportional to the crime, as internet access is essential to an individual's well-being.
There has also been outcry from public Wi-Fi providers, including hotels, internet cafés and libraries, which have insisted that the Act may cause innocent people to be cut off from the internet owing to the actions of others.
The Liberal Democrats stood against the legislation, but the Conservative Party gave its support to the government and allowed the legislation to be passed in a hurry before the general election, even though protesters were urging politicians to rethink the policies.
The Conservatives maintain that the Digital Economy Act should be given a chance to work, but should be reviewed if it affects legitimate consumers.
The Liberal Democrats, meanwhile, believe in "soft measures" to inform people that what they are doing is illegal, combined with the development of new, attractive and affordable services by the industry.
The party would repeal the copyright policies in the Act if elected, and put laws in place to tackle such issues in a fairer way.
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Loss of tax revenue for Governments
Surely if illegal downloading is allowed to continue at the current increasing rate - no one is going to benefit from it except the freeloaders. If media is offered for sale and bought legally then there is tax going to the government as well as income to those in the media industry - if media is illegally taken without a transaction occurring to purchase the media then Governments lose a tax revenue stream so I would have thought it in the best interests of governments to regulate the internet as in other business models to protect the rights of the creative content providers who generate big tax revenue streams out of the entertainment industry.
Posted by: BABE 08 May 2010