The controversial Digital Economy Bill has passed through the House of Lords and is now set for a lightning-fast passage through the Commons.
The bill could be debated for as little as half a day in the Commons, as politicians attempt to rush the legislation through ahead of the General Election.
The lack of scrutiny is particularly worrying, say campaigners, given that the controversial clause 17 – which potentially involves Ministers tampering with copyright law and ISPs being forced to block access to sites carrying copyrighted material – has been set aside to be settled in the Commons.
The Government has a duty to examine legislation properly. At this late stage, there will be no democratic debate
Jim Killock, the chief executive of the Open Rights Group, told PC Pro that the legislative process was “highly illegitimate”.
“We’re going to get a sort of Franken-clause – an amalgamation of two amendments that involves ministerial diktat and web blocking,” Killock said. “The Government has a duty to examine legislation properly. At this late stage, there will be no democratic debate.”
“It’s a big problem for us,” Killock added. “It’s not just web censorship, but actions to disconnect people from the internet. We certainly haven’t had a national debate about it.”
Members of the Lords have also expressed concern about the so-called “wash-up” procedure in the Commons.
“The method by which it [clause 17] is appearing is a complete and absolute abuse of Parliamentary process,” Lord Erroll told the Chamber during the bill’s final reading. “I am not quite sure why we bother to sit and debate any laws at all if the Front Benches in another place [House of Commons] can get together and put whatever they like into a bit of legislation.”
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