I'm a constituent living in Tewkesbury, trying to decide who I should vote for on thursday.

I would like to know each of your opinions on the Digital Economy Act. I would like to know your more general opinion of Copyright vs Copyleft, and whether internet censorship is a justifiable enforcement of copyright law.

I would also like to know what operating systems you are each familiar with and to what extent you are familiar with each. After all, if you are passing legislation regarding digital media and the use/abuse thereof, I should hope you are at least aware of a significant range of operating systems, their distribution methods and their compatibility with Digital Rights Management.

The Internet, and legislation surrounding it, affects us all. I would like to be reassured that those who are creating this legislation understand the core principles of it. Concisely, what is the internet for?

Cybercrime and cyberterrorism are also immediate threats to the safety and welfare of United Kingdom residents. What safeguards are being taken to ensure users of the internet are protected against security crackers, malicious software, privacy invasion and internet-based attacks; do you feel the current legislation is sufficient? Does it protect without infringing on civil liberties?

Remote devices - such as smart phones, tablet PCs and laptops - often include Digital Rights Management software to prevent users from infringing copyright. Have you ever been unable to use any device in the way in which you want to due to this software? Do you think the software is justifiably restrictive?

There are many software platforms available on the market today, but the main three are NT (eg Microsoft Windows), BSD (eg Apple Mac OSX) and Linux (eg GNU/Linux). Which of these (or any other) do you use? Which of these (or any other) do you think represents the most accurate analogy for your political party, and why?

I look forward to hearing from you before the general election. I appreciate I may not receive my answers until after I have voted due to the busy nature of yourselves at this time.

Regards,

Christopher Browne

So why do the Media companies impose this kind of restriction on Joe Public?  And why does Joe Public care about his Digital Rights?  Well, the Media companies are imposing this kind of restriction because they lack faith in the ability of The Law to prosecute thieves.  I find this particular lack of faith disconcerting, and it leads me to a similar mistrust of The Law, who seem to agree with The Media that prosecuting thieves isn't enough - they should be allowed to prevent the theft in the first place.

Now, ok,  putting a lock on your door and locking it when you go to bed at night is a sensible thing to do to prevent theft.  But would you really want to keep the door locked -all the time-?  You wouldn't be able to get out, and your friends wouldn't be able to get in!  Sure, your stuff is safe, but the user (ie you) is under house arrest!

This is what DRM does, effectively.  It isn't a reasonable precaution against piracy, it's overkill.  It's a way of saying "you aren't trusted to leave the house or take visitors, so we're locking your door.  Permanently.  It's for your own good, though!"

Great.  The reason I'm complaining, by the way, is because there is much in my house which is DRM'd, and I'm sick and tired of hacking it to get it to play/run/install on the "wrong" hardware, or even just a second device!  It's stupid!  When I legitimately purchase something, I want to be able to use it however I like, I want to be able to study it, I want to be able to modify it for my own [devious or otherwise] ends and I want to be able to give/sell/lend it to my friends/family if I no longer have a use for it.

This model is true of toasters, TVs, cars, boilers, sofas, beds, houses, kettles, washing machines, microwave ovens... thousands upon thousands of physical products.  What it is not true of is software and media (songs, movies, etc.).  Now, I grant you that software and media are "intellectual property", which is replicatable by anybody; but, surely, if I could replicate my toaster, maybe even improving it on the way - would it be fair of me to keep the replicated toaster to myself?

And surely if I could replicate my toaster and improve it and sell it on, the original manufacturer could replicate -my- toaster, add its own improvements, and release it all over again!  Surely this promotes The Healthy Kind of competition?  In fact, surely this -defines- The Healthy Kind of competition!

So, in fact, is it not fantastic that Software is so easily replicatable?  From a software-participant*'s point of view, anyway. Well, any software-participant who cares more about Good Software than they do about making a quick buck, anyway.

*software-participant: Someone who participates in the creation, use, modification, study or improvement of software.