Clause 3 - General duties of Ofcom
Communications Bill
5:45 pm
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon and East Chelmsford, Conservative)
I am not suggesting that standards should be mandated. We have specifically suggested that they should be promoted and should be a consideration. Ofcom should not be in the business of picking a piece of technology and saying, ''That is the right one; everybody else must adopt it.''
The purpose of the probing amendments is to secure recognition that copyright is hugely important to the creative industries. The music industry is not really covered by the Bill, but broadcast films and broadcast television are. That is the next step. At present, the broadcast industries have not been badly damaged by copyright theft, but there is potential for that to happen. Technology is developing so quickly that it will not be long before people are able to download perfect reproductions of films from internet sites that make the films available without any recognition that payment should be made to those who made them. The amendment requests that the Government at least consider a way of making Ofcom recognise that that is a serious issue for a large part of British industry.