Fred Mackintosh attacks Tories for backing the Digital Economy Bill

1.40.13pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 9th Apr 2010

Edinburgh South Lib Dem candidate Fred Mackintosh has attached Labour and the Tories for pushing the digital economy bill through parliament this week.

Fred Mackintosh said, "It is a disgrace that Labour should push such a controversial bill through with so little debate, and the support of the Tory whips shows that the Conservative Party cannot be trusted to protect freedom."

"I was speaking to a mother and her student son last night about the power in the Bill to force ISPs to take action against customers whose connections are suspected of being used for piracy. This disproportionate power is opposed by the ISPs themselves, as they will have no option but to pass the cost of enforcing this onto the consumers.

"Thanks to Tory support, the Digital Economy Bill has passed through Parliament. The Bill now includes measures that give the Government sweeping powers to block websites "likely to be used" for copyright infringement.

"The Bill also leaves providers of open wi-fi liable for the actions of their users, which will be especially damaging to those small businesses that provide wi-fi to their customers."