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Digital Economy Bill [HL]

In moving this amendment, I will also speak to Amendments 16, 21 and 22. There are different views about the merits of the Bill that we have so carefully discussed over the past three months and there is clearly much to discuss in the other place. Of course, there are still some unsatisfactory aspects. My noble friend Lady Miller mentioned the major problem that remains with use of the internet by libraries and universities. The noble Lord, Lord Puttnam, had some good points to make about the freeing up of copyright laws, which will mean the implementation of some aspects of the Gowers report that were not included in the Bill. Orphan works are another area that will leave this House in an unsatisfactory state. However, I strongly disagree with the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, who seems to have suggested in today’s debate that we have all been wasting our time for the past three months. I certainly do not accept that. I am quite clear that the Bill leaves this House in far better shape than when it arrived. The Government’s willingness to listen and to make changes to Clauses 4 to 16 is partly responsible for that. On these Benches, we have played our part to help significantly alter the Government’s original proposals relating to illegal P2P file-sharing and the possible introduction of technical measures. We take some satisfaction that there is now an explicit assumption, contrary to what the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, said, of innocence until proven guilty. None the less, the Government strenuously and rather bafflingly, throughout our deliberations on the Bill, insisted on the retention of Clause 17. These Benches opposed and helped to defeat the Government’s proposals, which would have given them wide powers to change copyright law by order. These amendments consist of a number of clarifications and improvements to the amendment that was introduced on Report to insert a new Section 97B into the copyright Act. I do not accept that the amendment that we voted on at Report is worse than Clause 17, but these amendments are much more targeted. I certainly do not accept that all this is evidence that we are in the pockets of the music industry. The music industry was mad keen—as indeed were many broadcasters and sports organisations—to keep Clause 17. I see that the noble Lord, Lord Triesman, is in his place. He made a passionate speech about Clause 17. The industry wanted Clause 17. New Section 97B is very much a second string in those circumstances. We drafted new amendments as a result of discussions with the Open Rights Group and others, which we believe will go some way towards meeting the objections of critics. They may not be officially endorsed by the Open Rights Group, but we are grateful for its assistance none the less. Amendment 14 would provide that a notice of a request for blocking must be given to service providers and online locations in the prescribed form. Amendment 16 would require courts to consider whether an injunction would disproportionately prejudice legitimate uses and legitimate users of the online location. This is to deal with any issue where an injunction could be used to disproportionately affect sites such as YouTube. Amendment 21 clarifies that the courts would determine costs where an injunction had been granted. In order to make the process more even-handed between an ISP and a rights holder, there is no presumption as to costs. Amendment 22 would create a remedy whereby innocent parties affected by requests for blocking where no court order was sought would have access to appeals via the courts and the ability to claim compensation. These amendments would help to rebalance the clause and are worthy of support. Without wishing to pre-empt the noble Lord, Lord Howard, I indicate our support for the other amendments in the group. I beg to move.