Lord Peter Mandelson - as clumsy with hot leek and potato soup, as he is at tackling file sharing

We’ve been hearing for weeks about the Government’s plans to disconnect internet users who indulge in a spot of illegal file-sharing, which according to some have more gaping holes than a hen night in Hull. Perhaps they’re not quite phrasing it like that. Two of the biggest concerns are that if the Digital Economy Bill is introduced as it stands, users would be cut off from their ISPs and potentially criminalised without trial, and there’s no way to discern whether a user has had their wi-fi hijacked by a third party – a relatively straight forward procedure.

Lord Mandelson, the Government minster who inspired the Barry Manilow’s 1975 classic, is hellbent on pushing the plans through despite reasonably critical opposition. And of course the music industry, which have been rattling on for such legislation for years without taking a moment to consider that a combination of its own actions (and inaction) has created its own demise, is delighted with the news. Says the body that represents the interests of record labels, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI):

“It is good news for fans of British music that Government is now introducing legislation to tackle illegal downloading. The creative sector in the UK needs new measures implemented urgently that address this problem for now and the future if the UK is to lead Europe in giving consumers innovative and high quality digital entertainment.”

The campaign against the plans becoming law is growing quickly; even some service providers have sworn to fight them. We recently told you of the Open Rights Group’s attempt to send a message to Mandelson, and now an online petition has been created on Downing Street’s official website, which already has nearly over 8,000 signatures and features other heavyweight voices of reason such as Stephen Fry. It’s worth a look and a signature, if you’d rather the Government stopped pissing about with draconian mandates, as if the internet dates back to the 18th century, and put some serious vision and thought into the digital future of the country.

You might be aware of Peter ‘Lord’ Mandelson’s utterly dickish plans for kicking filesharers off the internet after they’ve been caught out three times. Basically, the scheme has got more stinking holes in it than Rab C Nesbitt’s string vest and now you can look Lord Peter in the eye and tell him what exactly you think about his cack-headed idea.

The Open Rights Group have created an online wall where opponents to the ‘three strikes’ plan can show their faces and explain just why it’s a vast vat of old bollocks.

So far, among others, contributions have come from a man with a pan on his head, a dog and the late Brian Clough. It’s an admirable attempt at rallying the troops against a brain-numbingly stupid idea but what are the chances of Mandelson paying any attention to it at all? Slim to probably none.

Lord Peter is happy to shape British law to favour his dinner party chums like Dreamworks co-founder David Geffen, so he’s hardly likely to pay any attention to what a man with a pan on his head thinks…

[via Boing Boing]

Quick heads up for any readers which happen to be in London. Open Rights Group patron and cult author Neil Gaiman is speaking on “Piracy vs. Obscurity” tonight in London (Crypt on the Green, Clerkenwell). This should be an interesting talk and presumably Q&A not only because it comes from someone on the “other” side of piracy but also because of Gaiman’s publicised copyright spat with Todd McFarlane over Spawn.

It’s a tenner to get in unless you are an ORG supporter then it’s a fiver. Get the details and RSVP here: Neil Gaiman – ORG.