The following article was posted was posted by Helen Duffett and published yesterday on the Liberal Democrat Voice Website.

This week Julian Huppert tabled Early Day Motion 1913: Disconnection of Users from the Internet, which calls for a rethink on last year’s Digital Economy Act.

From the Register:

A Liberal Democrat MP is demanding a repeal of the Digital Economy Act having tabled an early day motion in Parliament yesterday, which so far has gained nine signatures from across the political spectrum.

Julian Huppert wants the UK government to debate the issue in the House of Commons. Signatories include Labour MPs Tom Watson and Eric Joyce as well as Tory backbencher Peter Bottomley.

The Lib Dem MP has made similar demands in the past about the DEA Act – which was rushed through the Palace of Westminster during the final days of the previous Labour government.

On this occasion Huppert used the recent report penned by Frank de la Rue entitled ‘Special Rapporteur on Free Expression’ (pdf) that was issued by the UN Human Rights Council, which highlighted concerns surrounding certain elements detailed in the 2010 Act.

The motion reads:

That this House welcomes the report of the Special Rapporteur on Free Expression, Frank de la Rue, to the Human Rights Council of United Nations; notes that he is `alarmed’ by the Digital Economy Act 2010 and other three strikes disconnection laws and that he considers them to be a violation of freedom of expression; further notes the report’s recommendation to repeal laws permitting disconnection of users from the internet; further notes that La Rue emphasises that web censorship should never be delegated to private entities, and that corporations should only act to block and censor with the authority of a judicial process; and calls on appropriate Parliamentary Select Committees and the Government to re-examine new website blocking proposals from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, as part of the Home Office’s Prevent strategy, and in sections 3 to 18 of the Digital Economy Act 2011 in the light of this report.