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Digital Economy Bill [HL]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, for his generous comments and record the fact that I agree with much of what he said. I add my voice in urging the Government again to have a discussion with the search engine companies. I know that it will not be the first time that an attempt at fruitful discussion with them has taken place. It seems a plausible argument to put to them that there are a variety of things which are illegal and undesirable in all sorts of different ways but which the technologies that they employ can open up to people. It is not beyond them to deal with that. It is certainly not beyond them to co-operate, because it is socially, let alone legally, right to co-operate. Without wishing either to hear things that the noble Lord did not intend, or to put words in his mouth, I urge that conversation to go ahead as soon as possible in light of the clause that is now in front of us.