Hundreds of people are expected to turn up outside the House of Commons at 5.30pm this afternoon to protest at proposals in the digital economy bill to disconnect people accused but not proven of illicit file sharing online, block websites and which could cause hotels and cafes to shut down Wi-Fi systems for customers.
People are also being urged to contact Harriet Harman, the leader of the house of commons, to demand a full debate on the issues.
The protesters will carry black placards and wear black tape on their eyes or ears, to indicate their feelings about the bill, which is being rushed through parliament and is expected to be pushed through in the "wash-up" process by which bills are nodded through on agreement of party whips after the election is called.
So far the bill has passed through the full process in the House of Lords. It has already had one reading in the Commons; procedure dictates that if a bill has a second reading by the time an election is called, it is eligible to be passed into the wash-up. Harman is expected to announce on Thursday that the government will give the bill its second reading on Tuesday 6 April – the same day that Gordon Brown is expected to go to the Queen to request the dissolution of parliament to trigger a general election.
The decision to protest today was partly driven by the alleged comments of one peer the Tory shadow minister for culture, media and sport Lord Howard of Rising, who said during the debate: "I was interested to hear the comments of the noble Earl, Lord Erroll. I am not sure that we would have demonstrations in Trafalgar Square about this, with people being thrown into fountains, but who can tell?"
If MPs do push for a comprehensive debate on the bill, that could stall its progress and prevent it going into the wash-up.
"We want a debate," said Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group, which has campaigned against many of the strictures in the bill. "Without the appropriate legal scrutiny the government's plans will criminalise innocent people and prevent them from conducting their lives, work or education online.
The bill also appears to contradict Gordon Brown's vision for Digital Britain set out in a speech earlier this week in which the prime minister described the internet as a "fundamental freedom in the modern world".
More than 12,000 members of the public have sent emails to their MPs via 38 Degrees, a site which enables citizen advocacy, urging them to demand a debate over the controversial bill in the House of Commons. Almost every MP in the house has received a letter, says 38 Degrees.
• Digital economy bill: what you need to know
Update: this story was edited to add the reference and precise quote from Lord Howard of Rising.
