Is the Digital Economy Bill a threat to co-working?
A lot has been said about the Digital Economy Bill. But it looks like too little has been said too late. Last night’s final reading, and the resultant Twitter response, has a silver-lining, more and more people are aware of parliamentary procedure, have read the bill, and have voiced their dissent.
But this bill could have a real impact on digital creatives and anyone with a shared network. We’d love to hear from any freelancers or contractors who think their work and project will be affected by the new bill. As it stands it looks like Internet Cafes and Co-working places might be most affected by the proposed changes in law — effectively any wireless hotspot owner will be liable for all content accessed via their network… and your entire network can be shut down, or given limited business threatening access, for any one possible infringement.
How this will play out in practice remains to be seen, but we’d be very interested to hear from co-working spaces and cafe owners who think they might be affected… and what steps you might be taking to get around, or comply, with the proposed law.
