"The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek tobalance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall beenslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. We champion the freedom, dignity andwell-being ofindividuals, we acknowledge and respect their right to freedom of conscience and their right todevelop their talents to the full. ... We look forward to a world in which all people share the samebasic rights, in which they live together in peace and in which their different cultures will be able todevelop freely."

Extract from the preamble to the Liberal Democrat constitution .

FACTSHEET:FREEDOM, CREATIVITY & THE INTERNET

The Lib Dems oppose the war against the younger generation using aggressive copyrightenforcement. On 14 March, the Lib Dem SpringConference unanimously adopted anemergency motion on Freedom, creativity and the internet which applies the basic objectives of the party’sconstitution to a relatively new world which isnow an essential part of the daily lives ofmillions of people: the internet.

At a time when many, particularly the youngergeneration, are fed up with conventional politics,this grassroots motion has demonstrated why theLib Dems are the only mainstream party which isdemocratic enough to withstand corporatelobbying.

Context

The emergency motion was proposed by grassrootsLib Dems in reaction to provisions in Labour’sDigital Economy Bill which facilitate website-blocking and internet-disconnection at the requestof rights holders. Suchprovisions would be open towidespread anti-competitive and civil libertiesabuses, as the experience with the US DigitalMillennium Copyright Act illustrates. They couldalso lead to the closure of wiﬁ hotspots at internetcafés, universities and libraries.Leading technology companies such as Google,Facebook, eBay, Yahoo! and British Telecomwarnedthat such provisions could have a chillingeffect on the internet, freedom of expression,competition and innovation. Similar provisions mayalso be included in the international Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, currently beingnegotiated in secret.

The emergency motion

Lib Dems condemn:i) Website-blocking and disconnecting internetconnections as a response to copyrightinfringement.ii) The threat to the freedom, dignity and well-beingof individuals and businesses from the monitoringof their internet activity, the potential blocking oftheir websites and the potential termination of theirinternet connections, which could lead to theclosure of internet hotspotsiii) The Digital Economy Bill for focusing on illegalﬁle-sharing rather than on nurturing creativityLib Dems support:a) The principle of net neutrality, through which allcontent, sites and platforms are treated equally byuser access networks participating in the Internet.b) The rights of creators and performers to berewarded for their work in a way that is fair,proportionate and appropriate to the medium.Lib Dems therefore oppose excessive regulatoryattempts to monitor, control and limit internetaccess or internet publication, whether at local,national, European or global level. A new Lib Dem policy working group will draw up afull policy paper on Information Technology andrelated aspects of intellectual property whichshould, in particular, consider:1. Reform of copyright legislation to allow fair useand to release from copyright protection works

75% of UK adults think access to theinternet should be a fundamental rightof all people.

BBC survey