back to article Web regulation could push Silicon Valley startups away from UK, Parliament warned

Three major internet service providers have said they would back a regulator to oversee rules for web giants – but warned lawmakers not to forget smaller firms or the bigger picture. In evidence to the House of Lords Communications Committee, gathered as part of its ongoing inquiry into internet regulation, policy execs from …

  1. Teiwaz

    Corporate verbal bollocks

    Almost totally verbatim, for several paragraphs, halfway through a Monday.

    I don't know if that counts as a sobering hangover cure or a somnambulant.

    1. John McCallum

      Re: Corporate verbal bollocks

      At least it is being talked about by Parliament and not being imposed by a jumped up civil servant.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Corporate verbal bollocks

        At least it is being talked about by Parliament and not being imposed by a jumped up civil servant.

        Bwaahahahahahahaha! The sarcasm is strong in this one!

        What, you mean it is being talked about by a self-selected committee of the unelected House of Lords. I'll let you do the analysis as to whether any of them have any relevant educational or technical qualifications, or business experience from which they might meaningfully pontificate. I must say I'm not hopeful, particularly when I observe that one of the grandees is none other than Floella Benjamin off of Play School, and another is the Bishop of Chelmsford, another is Labour appointee with a first class honours degree in French.

        If it were down to me I'd have the entire House of Lords picked up by chauffeur driven tumbrils, to be taken to an exciting mystery event guaranteeing a big audience and the chance of a speech from the platform.

        1. Roland6 Silver badge

          Re: Corporate verbal bollocks

          @Ledswinger - had a bad day?

          >What, you mean it is being talked about by a self-selected committee of the unelected House of Lords.

          The fundamental difference here is that the "self-selected committee" (made up of people mostly appointed to the HoL by members of the HoC) is sitting in public and thus open to scrutiny, whereas the "jumped up civil servant" can do their research out of sight and can, depending on their position (eg. head of Ofcom) simply implement something.

          >I'll let you do the analysis as to whether any of them have any relevant educational or technical qualifications, or business experience from which they might meaningfully pontificate.

          We're still awaiting an answer about what relevant experience the current head of Ofcom has, yet make decisions that impact businesses and peoples lives...

  2. Halcin

    Read the T&Cs etc. To paraphrase: the website owner has the right to do what they want, when they want, how they want. They are the prosecution, judge, jury and executioner.

    You have no right to know you've been accused, no right to know who has accused you, no right to know the details of the accusation, no right to defend yourself. And if convicted, no right to appeal. The only thing you are allowed to know, after the judgement, is that you've been found guilty.

    What little I know of the laws in Germany, they seem to have further entrenched this attitude as the "best" solution. Granting unaccountable, private companies even more power over our lives.

    This is not acceptable. And as the online world is becoming less optional every day, it is not something we can frivolously disregard. And yet, the prospect of allowing politicians and "civil" servants in on the act, doesn't exactly fill me with joy.

    1. Nick Kew

      Reg commentards, among many others, have been saying that for a long time.

      In this article, we have the big ISPs saying it: they don't want to be responsible for doing the government's dirty work, any more than we want them to do it.

      Let's see if Their Lordships listen to what's being said, and steer clear of foisting the Lord Chamberlain's old job onto reluctant and unqualified private companies. I suspect we stand a better chance of a sensible outcome there than in our dysfunctional Commons.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh they started with...

    ..."the bigger picture"

    Always a bad sign. Read carefully.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Big Brother

    Internet to be regulated by Parliament

    What we block at a network level, with the customer having no choice whatsoever, should be decided by Parliament

    I disagree, I don't want Parliament deciding what we see on the Internet. If such a situation comes about then things like IICSA would never see the light of day. ICSA, that's the child abuse enquiry where they lost all the victim testimonies from the website. ref ref

    1. Claptrap314 Silver badge

      Re: Internet to be regulated by Parliament

      What is he saying is that such decisions should be outside the hands of private companies, or a group of them. I can hardly see how you can complain.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    My main, indeed only, concern is whatever rules you attempt to impose on the Internet in your country do not interfere with the content I see in my country. Oh, and "think of the children" is not valid. Growing up in the university allowed me absolute freedom as a young child to read and understand what I wanted to learn, not what some "concerned adult" thought I should or should not see. Thankfully, my parents were completely in agreement with that.

    Nobody thought it odd at all that I watched "A Clockwork Orange" or "Night of the Living Dead" (when it had an X rating) when they came out. The former experience with large doses of Heinlein probably explain my views here. Together with plenty of thought while at sea. Scratch a sailor, find a philosopher.

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