UK Queen's Speech: More, Faster Broadband... But It Will Be Censored And Spied On

from the some-good,-some-very-bad dept

Thu, May 19th 2016 3:26am — Mike Masnick

So over in the UK, they just had the annual Queen's Speech in which the Queen lays out a bunch of regulatory proposals, and (as per usual) it's a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to the internet. As plenty of the headlines have blared, one part calls for universal broadband access, with a minimum speed of 10 Mbps (I'm assuming they're only talking about downstream speeds, rather than symmetrical, but who knows...). It would also include "automatic compensation" if your internet connection goes down. That's a very good idea as a starting point (I'd argue the speed should be even higher, but it's a start).

But... with that comes some things that sound a lot... worse. First off, there would be an expansion of the ridiculous "porn licensing" program in the UK whereby sites will need to do "age verification" if they have adult content. Not that anyone's saying that porn should be easily accessible to kids, but age verification is hardly foolproof, and can lead to a variety of other problems, including undermining the privacy of web surfers and just a general chilling effect on creating certain types of content online, for fear of it being locked away or filtered if it's deemed too mature. There are also concerns about how the government implements this ridiculous plan for 10-year prison sentences for infringers, and how that will impact a free and open internet.

And then there's the expansion of internet surveillance that is equally worrisome. There's a lot of stuff about "restricting extremist activity" and trying to stop the children from being radicalized ("think of the children!"). In theory, those must sound like nice ideas, but in practice, they're a broad framework for a massive censorship regime. Free speech groups are already raising concerns about all of this:

The new proposals should avoid creating an environment that could make it even harder for people of all faiths and ideologies to express their beliefs and opinions, the groups said. Current legislation already prohibits incitement to violence and terrorism, and a compelling case for broadening them further through civil measures has not been made.

“The government’s move to counter extremism must not end up silencing us all,” said Jodie Ginsberg, Chief Executive of Index on Censorship. “We should resist any attempts to make it a crime for people of faith to talk publicly about their beliefs, for political parties to voice unpopular views, and for venues from universities to village halls to host anyone whose opinions challenge the status quo. We urge the government to use its consultation to ensure this does not happen.”

As with many regulations, many of these feel like "x is a problem, something should be done, this is something" kinds of solutions, without much thought or concern to the nuances behind the implementation and the wider consequences (intended or not) of those proposals. That's unfortunate, especially when it comes to a platform as important and central to our lives as the internet.

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Filed Under: broadband, queen's speech, surveillance, uk

31 Comments

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Willam H. Taft, 19 May 2016 @ 3:52am

Hey, UK!
Welcome to your new dystopic nightmare. The US will join you soon enough.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2016 @ 3:55am

Re: Hey, UK!
What do you mean join, the US is leading the way, but trying to do it in secret.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2016 @ 4:25am

Monarchs Love Censorship
Queen Anne even introduced copyright for censorship.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2016 @ 4:40am

it sounds to me like Cameron trying to inflict his will on the whole of the people of the UK and anywhere else that he can! just because he wants porn to be censored or movies to be unobtainable or music to be equally as hard to get, and just because the entertainment industries and Hollywood have him in their pockets, doesn't give him the right to take all those things from everyone! how any democratic country can be changed so much that it basically becomes a near dictatorship, is beyond me.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2016 @ 4:47am

Re:
how any democratic country can be changed so much that it basically becomes a near dictatorship, is beyond me.

Its easy, almost all politicians are authoritarian tyrants at heart, which is why the seek office, and they see their job as writing more laws, which ratchets the law towards a totalitarian state.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2016 @ 5:13am

the 'more, faster, broadband is not guaranteed, is not going to be available to everyone and those it will be available to will only be after asking for it and having to contribute towards the costs. something else the UK government has siphoned from the rip off industries in the USA!! talk about 'that special relationship'!
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Seegras (profile), 19 May 2016 @ 5:18am

You should remember your roots
I'd suggest to start with

- Gentlemen don't read gentlemen's mail

and

- Britons never will be slaves

You're violating both right now.
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Violynne (profile), 19 May 2016 @ 7:00am

What, no complimentary Google tax?

The UK is slipping.
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webb_hastings (profile), 19 May 2016 @ 7:19am

Message to 'queen', lol: Eff off b!tch! Same goes for nsa.
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MadAsASnake (profile), 19 May 2016 @ 7:21am

Re:
I get speeds far beyond anything you can get in the US, it's uncapped and I get it today. The exceptions are going to be mostly rural outliers where the economics are bad...
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2016 @ 7:25am

Re: Re:
autocratic power releases dopamine in the human brain, the same drug as amphetamines release. people who are attracted to that power are simply legal drug addicts and should be removed from society and subjected to the same rehab regime as said drug addicts until they begin treating it as a public service again.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2016 @ 7:43am

Radicalisation
The best way to counter radicalisation is to let the radicals put their agenda out in the open for everyone to see and (hopefully) reject.

At present they are mostly hiding behind deceptive platitudes like "the religion of peace" which far too many people accept at face value.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2016 @ 7:44am

In other words, it's still useless.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2016 @ 7:59am

The only way to stop radicalization of youth is to stop herding them into radicalization centres. Make religion an adults-only activity, restrict access to religious institutions the same way we do strip clubs, bars, casinos.

Youths simply do not have the mental development to deal rationally with these concepts.
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John Fenderson (profile), 19 May 2016 @ 9:50am

“The government’s move to counter extremism must not end up silencing us all,” said Jodie Ginsberg, Chief Executive of Index on Censorship. “We should resist any attempts to make it a crime for people of faith to talk publicly about their beliefs, for political parties to voice unpopular views, and for venues from universities to village halls to host anyone whose opinions challenge the status quo. We urge the government to use its consultation to ensure this does not happen.”

I agree with this. The problem is that literally every domestic program equates "countering extremism" with "not allowing extremists to advocate their views".

Which is precisely the same as "making it a crime to talk about unpopular views".

It's also counterproductive: censoring unpopular views leads directly to the implication that those views aren't really so unpopular. If there wasn't a fear that people would find them persuasive, nobody would bother with trying to censor them.
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John85851 (profile), 19 May 2016 @ 10:24am

Extremist activity
If they want to censor all extremist activity, then they need to be fair and across the board about it. We all know their goal is to cut down on ISIS recruitment, but how about radical Christians who want to burn down mosques because brown people are different?

Will these rules censor people like Kim Davis? Like what was said so often back then, if her beliefs won't let her do the job she's being paid to do, then she should quit.

Can someone please explain the real difference between how Iran is ruled by the teachings of Islam and how so many "Christians" want the US to be ruled by the Bible? Oh, right, one is a "good" religion and the other is "bad".
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That One Guy (profile), 19 May 2016 @ 12:36pm

Re: You should remember your roots
You missed the footnote on both.

*Only applies to the privileged, peons may be spied upon and/or enslaved at your discretion.
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Mark Wing, 19 May 2016 @ 2:19pm

In the words of the Sex Pistols:

God save the Queen,
The fascist regime,
They made you a moron
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2016 @ 4:31pm

Re: Extremist activity
The booze helps.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2016 @ 5:19pm

Re:
So mandatory home-schooling for all children?
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2016 @ 5:32pm

Re: Extremist activity
These same comments can be applied to any and all belief systems - atheism, buddhism, hindu, communism, capitalism, humanism, evolutionism, bid bangism, steady stateism, multiversism, rainbowism, string theoryism, anti-string theoryism, bird watchingism, train spottingism, vegamism, vegemitism, sugarism, anti-smokingism, gun controlism, gun freedomism, naturalism, abortionism, anti-abortionism, free speechism, etc.

Add to the above list as you feel appropriate.

Will these rules censor people like Kim Davis? Like what was said so often back then, if her beliefs won't let her do the job she's being paid to do, then she should quit.This can be said about anyone in any job. Many jobs require you do distasteful things (as a matter of view by the occupant of the position) as a matter of law or rule. Open your mind and see the bigger picture buddy, because what you advocate may mean things get even worse - for everyone. Just because you might disagree with her position (which you are fully entitled to do) don't advocate a position or action for her that may end up being applied to you in some future context.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2016 @ 5:39pm

Re: Extremist activity
how so many "Christians" want the US to be ruled by the Bible
You are right to put the word Christians in quotes here. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is a personal relationship way of life. Many people who call themselves "Christian" in the west have little or no idea of what this entails. The same can be said for many Moslems as well. Many do not realise that their Koran actually calls for Muhammad to be treated in the same light as Allah. In other words, he is to be considered on par with Allah and to be worshipped as well.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2016 @ 8:58pm

The queen should clean her own house before she starts snooping in her citizens homes for criminal activity.

By her house I mean her government.
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Wendy Cockcroft, 20 May 2016 @ 5:44am

Re: Monarchs Love Censorship
Right title, wrong queen. It was actually Queen Mary 1, AKA Bloody Mary, who introduced copyright as censorship to prevent the distribution of Bibles, etc. Behold ye olde Streisand Effect.
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Wendy Cockcroft, 20 May 2016 @ 5:50am

Re:
Authoritarians and suckups in the population cheer them on while the rest of them snooze, believing it'll never happen to them. Anyone who complains is dismissed in the media as a conspiracy theorist or fringe loon.

It's the fact that everyone else is not really paying attention that's the problem. Government works perfectly well when people are engaged but when they abdicate their responsibilities and let politicians run wild, this happens.

It doesn't help that the vestiges of the old forelock-tugging class system remain, so people are accustomed to deferring to authority. It actually takes a great act of will to challenge the status quo.
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Wendy Cockcroft, 20 May 2016 @ 5:53am

Re: Re:
Isn't authoritarianism awesome? I can almost see the "papers please" checkpoints outside every church on a Sunday, enforcing the new law that AC @ 5:19pm proposes.

Coming soon: state-sanctioned and approved belief systems.
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Wendy Cockcroft, 20 May 2016 @ 5:56am

Re: Re: Extremist activity
Indeed. Authoritarianism is bad, whoever does it and however well-meaning they are. Heck, I'd argue that the well-meaning ones are the worst and do the most damage.

Freedom means being able to make your own decisions from all the choices that are available, not the ones that are pre-approved and presented to you as if they are the only ones available.

Note the use of $boogeyman to enforce compliance.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 May 2016 @ 7:08am

Re: Re:
No, instead of keeping kids out of school, keep religion out of school.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 May 2016 @ 7:10am

Re: Re: Re:
Do you have a problem with ID checks at strip clubs, or do you think that children should be welcomed in?
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That One Guy (profile), 20 May 2016 @ 11:31am

Re: Re: Re: Extremist activity
Umm, no. If you can't do the job you're being paid to do you don't get to hide behind 'But my beliefs prohibit me from doing what the job requires!' to duck out of the job's requirements while you continue to be paid for the work you're not doing.

If your religion or your particular interpretation of it makes certain actions unacceptable to you then being hired on at a government position that requires you perform those actions is probably not the best idea. Transfer to a position where you don't have to deal with the conflict of interest if possible, quit otherwise. 'Continue to be paid while refusing to do your job' is not one of the options.

If someone is being paid by the government(which is barred from endorsing or supporting religious beliefs, any religious beliefs) to do X, and they refuse to do X either in part or entirely due to their religious beliefs they either need to be fired or quit, as they are trying to force their religious beliefs on others from a position that is supposed to be free of such.
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GEMont (profile), 21 May 2016 @ 3:39pm

Necessity is the Mother of Invention
Well, I'm going to look at this a different way and see if maybe this whole thing with the Feds and Cops becoming Public Enemy #1 just might have a silver lining.

Private Home Security for everyone. :)

With luck, all of these awful decisions by Law Enforcement and the Federal Government, about spying on the public and eliminating their Constitutional Rights, will backfire and create a huge new wave of personalized security measures SPECIFICALLY designed to keep the Rogue Government, along with the other normal bad-guys, out of your communications and personal records.

---
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