It's the big day for the digital economy bill - 6 April, second reading and perhaps some debate in the house of Commons. Gordon Brown is also expected to take a trip to Buckingham Palace to ask the Queen to dissolve parliament so there can be a 6 May election. (Blimey, hope she's at home.)
The Open Rights Group has already taken out adverts in the Guardian and Times newspapers demanding that MPs give the bill "proper" debate - asserting that
"On Tuesday, the digital economy bill, with all its myriad problems, will be voted on its second reading – after the election has been declared. It will then be pushed through 'wash-up' – and become law without full scrutiny"
Certainly there is a lot of concern among people who see multiple flaws in the bill as presently set up – and as it seems to be altered by the new clause 18 being introduced by the government.
There is also opposition to the bill from photographers, who complain that its treatment of orphan works is unfair.
All sorts of questions remain: will the Liberal Democrats be able to derail it from moving into, and through, the wash-up? If it passes, will hotels and libraries and teashops and McDonalds shut down their open Wi-Fi? And if it passes and a Tory government comes in, and slices and dices Ofcom as it has indicated it would want to, will its effectiveness in monitoring processes in the bill be affected?
If you need a reminder of the major points in the bill, don't be embarrassed. It's a very complex and very controversial piece of legislation – probably the most unpopular to have ever been proposed for pushing through in the wash-up.
